Of the county's 9,377 registered voters,
nearly 4,700, or 50 percent of the electorate, turned out to cast
ballots during this year's general election.

The Archuleta County results, released at 1
a.m. Nov. 8, showed wins on County Ballot Issues 1A, 4A and 5B, thus
guaranteeing TABOR exemptions for Archuleta County, the San Juan
Water Conservancy District, and the Upper San Juan Health Service
District.

Local ballot questions that failed included
Ballot Question 3A, extending term limits for school board members,
and Question 5A, asking voters to support the library with a mill
levy increase.

In state races, Archuleta County voters sent
Republican Ellen Roberts to the District 59 House seat in Denver,
while incumbent Democrat Jim Isgar will return to his seat as the
District 6 state senator. At the local level, Roberts defeated
Democrat Joe Colgan, and Isgar defeated Republican Ron Tate.

District wide, Roberts took the seat with an
approximate 1,200 vote margin, while Isgar retained his seat by over
10,000 votes.

Local electors also voted to retain county
court judge James Denvir.

Archuleta County Clerk and Recorder June
Madrid said the voting process went smoothly at the three vote
centers, voters remained largely in good spirits, and that wait times
averaged between 10 and 30 minutes.

The difficulties, she said, came in
processing the ballots.

Madrid said new security measures,
electronic voting machines and a lengthy ballot posed new and
unprecedented challenges for election officials.

"Voting judges struggled with seals on
voting machines," Madrid said. But she added that no seals were
compromised.

Madrid said in light of the new voting
technology and mandated security measures, some of the election
judges suggested a debriefing luncheon to identify trouble spots and
to explore methods to smooth out the process.

According to Madrid, absentee ballots also
played their own role in election day headaches.

She said 150 absentee ballots had to be
duplicated by hand with an 11-person duplicating board because the
voting machines had rejected the ballots.

Madrid said some voters had pressed too hard
when completing the ballots making heavy indentations in the paper
and others had made errant marks, which, in either case can cause the
machine to reject the ballot.

Madrid explained when an absentee ballot is
rejected, a member of the duplicating board must hand copy the
information from the absentee ballot onto a new ballot.

She said the process is time consuming and
is overseen by observers.

Although Madrid said, "It's uncommon for so
many absentee ballots to be kicked out."

The results of Tuesday's election remain
unofficial until all provisional ballots are counted.

State, Regional and Local
Results

County Offices

County Commissioner District 3

Robert C. Moomaw (R) 2,541

John T. Egan (D) 2,055

County Clerk and Recorder

June Madrid (R) 3,797

County Treasurer

Lois E. Baker (R) 3,593

County Assessor

Keren L. Prior (R) 3,030

Natalie Woodruff (R-Write In) 787

County Sheriff

Peter L. Gonzalez (R) 3,579

County Surveyor

David L. Maley (R) 3,470

County Coroner

Carl R. Macht (R) 3,566

Court of Appeals

Retain Judge Russell E. Carparelli?

Yes: 2,519 No: 939

Retain Judge Janice B. Davidson?

Yes: 2,479 No: 955

Retain Judge Alan M. Loeb?

Yes: 2,394 No: 1,011

Retain Judge Jose D.L. Marquez?

Yes: 2,335 No: 1,099

Retain Judge Robert M. Russel?

Yes: 2,511 No: 897

County Judge

Retain Judge James E. Denvir?

Yes: 3,156 No: 1,060

County and local Ballot Issues

Ballot Issue 1A

Yes: 2,560 No: 1,885

Ballot Issue 1B

Yes: 1 No: 7

Ballot Issue 1C

Yes: 1 No: 7

Archuleta County School District 50 JT
Ballot Issue 3A

Yes: 1,983 No: 2,110

Upper San Juan Health Service District
Ballot Issue 4A

Yes: 2,757 No: 1,423

Upper San Juan Library District Ballot
Issue 5A

Yes: 2,042 No: 2,469

San Juan Water Conservancy District
Ballot Issue 5B

Yes: 2,121 No: 1,517

State Offices

Governor/Lieutenant Governor

Bill Ritter Jr./Barbara O'Brien (D)
2,254

Bob Beauprez/Janet Rowland (R) 2,206

Clyde J. Harkins/Tracy Davison (American
Constitution) 9

Dawn Winkler-Kinateder/Richard Randall
(Libertarian) 82

Paul Noel Fiorino/Heather Anne McKibbin
(Unaffiliated) 26

Secretary of State

Mike Coffman (R) 2,525

Ken Gordon (D) 1,890

State Treasurer

John Suthers (R) 2,583

Mark Hillman (R) 2,464

Cary Kennedy (D) 1,819

Attorney General

Fern O'Brien (D) 1,585

Dwight K. Harding (Libertarian) 174

Regent of the University of Colorado At
Large

Brian Davidson (R) 2,237

Stephen C. Ludwig (D) 1,427

Daniel "Jeffersonian" Ong (Libertarian)
148

Douglas "Dayhorse" Campbell (American
Constitution) 202

Marcus C. McCarty (Unaffiliated) 53

Regent of the University of Colorado
Congressional District 3

Tilman "Tillie" Bishop (R) 2,359

Susan A. Hakanson (D) 1,653

State Senate District 6

James Isgar (D) 2,488

Ron Tate (R) 2,040

State Representative District
59

Ellen Roberts (R) 2,684

Joe Colgan (D) 1,700

State amendments and referenda

State amendments

Amendment 38 - Yes: 1,429 No: 2,921

Amendment 39 - Yes: 1,764 No: 2,682

Amendment 40 - Yes: 2,083 No: 2,341

Amendment 41 - Yes: 3,057 No: 1,392

Amendment 42 - Yes: 2,747 No: 1,827

Amendment 43 - Yes: 2,802 No: 1,789

Amendment 44 - Yes: 1,941 No: 2,621

Referenda

Referendum E - Yes: 3,658 No: 816

Referendum F - Yes: 1,938 No: 2,173

Referendum G - Yes: 3,116 No: 1,075

Referendum H - Yes: 2,200 No: 2,120

Referendum I - Yes: 1,910 No: 2,614

Referendum J - Yes: 1,899 No: 2,473

Referendum K - Yes: ,2609 No: 1,769

Federal Offices

Representative to the 110th United States
Congress House District 3

John Salazar (D) 2,627

Scott Tipton (R) 1,921

Bert L. Sargent (Libertarian) 83

Pinewood Inn: 'No historic
significance'

James Robinson

Staff Writer

A re-worked moratorium prohibiting
demolitions of buildings 50 years old and older passed muster on
first reading with a unanimous vote during Tuesday's regular meeting
of the Pagosa Springs Town Council.

As approved, the re-tuned moratorium,
Ordinance No. 683, will repeal and replace the town's previous
demolition ordinance, No. 666, and expands provisions for exemptions
from the moratorium with changes in two key areas.

First, the new ordinance allows property
owners to obtain exemptions from the demolition moratorium if they
can prove their building is structurally unsound. Secondly, the
ordinance allows the town council to grant an exemption if the
property owner can demonstrate that maintaining or keeping the
building "as is" is an economic hardship.

A previous version of the re-worked
moratorium presented for first reading during the October town
council meeting failed to define "structurally unsound" or "economic
hardship," and lacked a description of parameters, procedures or
documentation required for a petitioner to support their case.

During the October session, the town council
acknowledged the ordinance's shortcomings, but approved the
moratorium then, contingent upon " economic hardship" and
"structurally unsound," and procedures for demonstrating such, being
more clearly defined. The version presented during Tuesday's meeting
reflected the council's request.

As written in the new ordinance, the
mechanisms for proving either economic hardship or structural
integrity are broad, and the document lists numerous avenues for
applicants to make their case.

William Darling, attorney for Charles Craig,
owner of the Pinewood Inn, challenged the revised ordinance on three
grounds. First, Darling argued the parameters for demonstrating
hardship or structural integrity are too broad and subjective.
Second, Darling said it would cost a property owner a significant
amount of money to comply with the ordinance and make their case.
Third, Darling said the language of the new moratorium granted an
exemption to the property owner only, but should be granted to the
property instead.

Darling and Craig have sought an exemption
from the moratorium since August, stating, despite the town's
historic preservation board's finding that two structures on the
Pinewood Inn property are historically significant, the motel is no
longer economically viable, is structurally unsound, and is most
saleable as vacant land rather than a functioning business. Craig has
said demolition is the key to the property's sale.

The preservation board's findings bound the
Pinewood Inn to the constraints of the moratorium, however the board
acts in an advisory capacity to the town council, with the council
being the final arbiter in the decision.

"There's no clear way of predicting how
someone will look at this. I think the criteria are problematic. If
you adopt this and implement this, you'll find the criteria
unworkable," Darling said.

Town Planner Tamra Allen challenged
Darling's assertions. She said the criteria were crafted
intentionally to provide applicants a broad range of options in
making their case, and served as guidelines rather than mandates.

"It's up to the applicant to clearly
demonstrate economic hardship by factual evidence. It does not
require submittal of all information. The key is to make a clear and
compelling case," Allen said.

In the end, and regarding the Pinewood Inn,
Darling's concerns proved unwarranted.

Following approval of the first reading of
the moratorium, the town council faced a decision regarding the
historic significance of the Pinewood Inn.

Although the town's historic preservation
found that two structures on the Pinewood Inn property were
historically significant and should be bound by the moratorium, the
council had not made a formal ruling to uphold or deny the board's
recommendation.

During Tuesday's meeting, council member
Stan Holt moved to deny the board's historic significance
recommendation and to grant Craig a demolition permit.

Mayor Ross Aragon, council member Darrel
Cotton and Holt voted in favor of the motion with council members
Judy James and Tony Simmons dissenting.

Council members John Middendorf and Bill
Whitbred were absent.

Whitbred has been absent for most of the
meetings regarding the Pinewood Inn case. Those meetings began in
early September.

Town Manager Mark Garcia said Craig applied
for a demolition permit Wednesday.

According to town building official Scott
Pierce, all town permits, including demolition permits, are not
transferable.

Pierce said the town's building code states
that only a property owner, or an owner's agent, may obtain a permit.
"When the property changes hands, the permit does not go with the
project," Pierce said.

Garcia supported Pierce's assertion.

That leaves Craig, according to demolition
permit regulations, 120 days to demolish the property.

Craig declined to comment on his
plans.

At the end of the meeting, and after all
parties in the Pinewood Inn case had left council chambers, Cotton
requested the council modify Holt's motion to include a condition
that issuance of Craig's demolition permit should be contingent upon
submittal of an approved development plan.

After discussing the legality of the move,
Cotton's request was denied and Holt's prior motion was rescinded
with a new motion put forth with more concise language. In the new
motion, Holt stated the council found that none of the buildings on
the Pinewood Inn property had historic significance.

On Nov. 15, the town will consider adopting
an ordinance that would require submittal of a development plan prior
to issuance of a demolition permit.

The demolition moratorium will go again
before the town council for second reading and final approval in
December.

Hospital construction funded,
underway

By Chuck McGuire

Staff Writer

During its regular monthly meeting Tuesday
night, the Upper San Juan Health Service District Board of Directors
amended one budget, adopted another and announced significant
progress toward the development of a hospital in Pagosa
Springs.

As the meeting began, it seemed business as
usual, with the call to order and approval of minutes to prior
meetings. But, as attention turned toward amending the district's
2006 budget, the reality of a hospital in Pagosa Springs suddenly
emerged.

In an earlier version of the 2006 budget,
which the district had previously adopted and appropriated funds for,
its Administrative Services Fund was allotted $432,580. For the Dr.
Mary Fisher Clinic Fund, the district provided $25,487, and it
allocated $1,108,263 for its Emergency Medical Services Fund.

In the amended form, however, exactly $12
million had been added to the Dr. Mary Fisher Clinic Fund. The
addition reflected the successful issuance of voter-approved revenue
bonds, the subsequent sale of the bonds, and a guarantee that
financing for the new hospital had indeed been secured.

Following review of the proposed 2007
budget, which included first-time funding for such things as
operational reserves and a 3-percent TABOR reserve, the board members
present unanimously approved it, subject to any possible
government-required revenue adjustments derived from grants or true
value assessments.

Again, all apparently business as
usual.

But then, as board chair Neal Townsend asked
for a report from the district Bond and Finance Committee, committee
member J.R. Ford announced that the first installment of the
district's hospital construction financing through UMB Financial
Corporation, in the amount of $9.89 million, would be funded the next
day (yesterday).

A robust round of applause quickly followed,
as board treasurer Bob Goodman jubilantly exclaimed, "I can't believe
we're finally doing this. After all the trials and tribulations, this
is a dream come true."

Ford said closing on the initial loan amount
was scheduled for Wednesday, and the remaining $2.11 million would
come sometime in January.

In a second announcement, which generated
another round of applause, board vice chair Michelle Visel declared
fund-raising committee success in obtaining a $500,000 Department of
Local Affairs (DOLA) grant for the purchase of necessary hospital
equipment.

Visel and Ford were to formally request the
grant at a meeting in Redstone earlier this fall, but an early-season
snowstorm prevented them from attending. Instead, they made the
request by phone and were initially led to believe their appeal had
been rejected. However, in a subsequent phone conversation with DOLA
officials, Ford learned that the grant was approved and would be
fully funded.

As an update on a Caring for Colorado
Foundation grant the district has also applied for, Visel reported
that, while final word wasn't expected until February, at least
partial approval looked promising.

Visel said CFCF has never extended a grant
of such size before, but officials there appear ready to honor some,
if not all, of the $200,000 asked. In this case, whatever amount CFCF
offers, the money will go toward the purchase of hospital equipment
from Mercy Regional Medical Center in Durango.

With initial funding secured and equipment
grants coming in, the pace of actual construction has increased
accordingly. Heavy equipment operators continue reshaping the land to
accommodate the 28,000 square-foot addition to the Dr. Mary Fisher
Medical Center that will become the new hospital, while others are
busy relocating utility lines currently in the path of
development.

Poor soil conditions have delayed work on
the building foundation, but two separate solutions appear feasible
and less costly than originally anticipated.

Meanwhile, the district Hospital
Construction Committee recently met with its chosen contractor, GE
Johnson, and received a final bid for the total cost of hospital
construction. Ford acknowledged that the bid was within the
district's budget, and told of certain items previously removed from
the original design that had been added back in. Those items include
a covered entry, laboratory and cabinetry, a fully functional
kitchen, protection trim, and tile flooring in common areas.

Ford also suggested foundation excavation
would begin in about a week, and steel would be delivered by
February. Completion is expected in 14 months.

Inside The
Sun

Stevens Field receives
'Outstanding Airport' award

By Chuck McGuire

Staff Writer

Colorado Pilots Association Inc. has recognized Archuleta County's
Stevens Field as one of two "outstanding" Colorado airports for 2006.

At its annual meeting in Denver Nov. 4, the association presented
Stevens Field an "Outstanding Airport" award in observance of its
exceptional services and facilities in general aviation. The
association also similarly recognized Harriet Alexander Field near
Salida.

According to CPA Awards Committee Co-chairman Walt Barbo, the
awards are part of a program in which CPA members, based on their
flying experiences, identify and nominate Colorado airports for such
recognition.

Separate awards are typically given to commercial and general
aviation airports, but this year, Barbo said, "both awards were given
to airports in the general aviation category, in consideration of the
extraordinary effort and contribution to growth of aviation in
Colorado."

In part, a press release announcing this year's awards reads, "The
award to Stevens Field was given in recognition of efforts over the
last three years to revitalize the airport through a major
construction program that converted the airport into one of the most
outstanding facilities serving Colorado mountain recreational areas."

In a letter to CPA, local pilot John Huft nominated Stevens Field
for the honor, citing its reformation from "a decaying runway sinking
into the swamp," to a modern general aviation gem capable of handling
corporate jets weighing up to 75,000 pounds.

As Huft wrote, "The old, claptrap FBO (fixed base operator) hangar
is now used for the airport maintenance vehicles. A new building at
the midfield apron replaces it, with bright new offices, ramp
security cameras, and modern fueling facilities. New private hangars
are also being built at this location."

Huft also sang praise for airport manager George Barter, and FBO
general manager Bob Goubitz of AvJet Corporation. Barter assumed
management in early August and, according to Huft, has brought "a new
atmosphere of professionalism and friendliness that is welcomed by
the local pilots, and will be appreciated by our visitors as well."

Goubitz, meanwhile, has brought energy and enthusiasm to the
entire FBO staff, and is working to establish truly competitive
aircraft fuel prices. Huft describes that as "a welcome change."

Improvements at Stevens Field over the past three years include
the new FBO building and hangars, a midfield apron, full perimeter
fencing, and the enlargement of the runway. The runway was expanded
from a 60-foot-wide strip with a 12,000 pound capacity to one 75 feet
wide and 8,100 feet long, with a 75,000 pound capacity. To date, the
renovation has cost approximately $12.5 million, with the Federal
Aviation Administration covering 95 percent. The state and county
governments have shared the rest.

The Outstanding Airport Award comes just a month after Archuleta
County received a grant from the Colorado Aeronautical Board totaling
$192,719. A substantial portion of that money, roughly $127,000,
constitutes the state's share in next year's construction of a
parallel taxiway that will compliment the new runway.

Another $25,000, though not anticipated, was offered as
reimbursement for costs already incurred in previous projects. The
balance will aid in resurfacing a badly deteriorated north ramp.

The north ramp is one of two aircraft parking areas at midfield,
and pilots have refused to use it in fear that powerful engines may
sustain damage, by picking up loose gravel. Archuleta County will
contribute $15,000 in cash or in-kind services toward the north ramp
overlay.

As in earlier projects, the FAA will cover 95 percent of the
amount needed to construct the new parallel taxiway, with the county
matching the state's contribution. The total cost of the project is
estimated at $5.3 million.

How much are those boots in the
window?

A Veterans Day tribute

By Marcia Norton Leeper

Special to The SUN

The location: the window of the Main Street Antiques Store on
Pagosa Street in downtown Pagosa Springs.

The date: Week of Nov. 11, 2006.

Clearly printed in black ink inside the World War II paratrooper
boots, resting in front of the American flag, is an inscription -
"June 15, 1942, USA."

In "as found" condition, achingly poignant, no boot laces, scuffed
and well worn with crumpled high-tops, the boots remind one of the
boots worn by the six American soldiers raising the American flag
over Iwo Jima in that famous World War II photo.

The boots belong to Andrew Lukcik, formerly of Pagosa Springs,
and, as of September 2006, now residing in California. Boots like
these were worn by the 11th Airborne paratrooper "Angels," as they
were called, during combat jumps on Luzon, Tagaytay Ridge and Leyte.
Andy was one of the paratroopers, and his job was part of the United
States' campaign to liberate the Philippines.

I met Andy purely by chance. My daughter, Lisa, had placed an ad
in the Pagosa SUN to attract owners of estates selling antiques.
Andy's son-in-law, Wayne Brown, responded. Unable to go to the sale,
Lisa asked me to go for her. I was greeted by Wayne and his wife,
Fran, who explained it was her father, Andy, who was "down-sizing"
before leaving Pagosa, for health reasons.

Before long, while accumulating items of interest, I noticed a
pair of old boots on the garage shelf. Wayne said, "Those are the
paratrooper boots Andy wore when he landed in the Philippines during
World War Two."

I asked if Andy was keeping them. Wayne took me into the room
where Andy was sitting. The man radiated an aura of softness and
dignity that put me at ease. I liked and loved him immediately. Still
handsome and in his 80s, his gentle demeanor made me feel it was okay
to ask questions. I wanted to know just where those boots had landed
in the Philippines. He told me in his quiet way only what little he
wished to reveal and this I share here.

Our meeting was much too brief, but before I left (with the
boots), we hugged tightly and with tears in my eyes, I managed to
say, "Thank you," for myself and for all the rest of us who live in
freedom because of men like him.

Several weeks later, a regular customer who collects unusual items
visited the antique store where I work. Eventually our conversation
led to the fact that I had acquired the paratrooper boots. His first
question was, "Are they for sale?"

I had never thought about selling them, but agreed to bring them
into the store for him to see. Next day, as I held the boots and told
him Andy's story, several other customers were eavesdropping and
crowded around to see. They, too, wanted to hear the history of those
boots. Everyone asked the same questions: "Are they for sale?" "How
much?"

Just like me, they were in awe. I realized right then that
everyone who wanted to see the boots and learn about the World War II
veteran who wore them in combat, should be allowed to do so.

And so Š how much are those boots in the window?

How much is love of country, freedom and family worth when men
like Andy are willing to fight on for all they believe and hold dear,
while others perish around them?

How much are the lives of the servicemen worth who never came
home?

How much do we owe their families?

Really, really think what living without freedom would be like.

With that said, local teachers are invited to bring these boots
into their classrooms for the young ones to see - to be seen by
school children old enough to learn about wars. Let them see history
first-hand. Tell them about our veterans. Let them look at the boots;
let them touch them and think about the foreign soil on which they
landed and why our soldiers were there.

This is an opportunity to teach our children what Veterans Day is
clearly all about - a day of tribute, honor and gratitude to those
veterans who are still with us and to those who gave their all. And,
if only one child understands what these boots represent and why we
are a free nation today, it will be worth it!

How much are those boots in the window? Only God will ever know.
Some things just need to be shared, never sold. As for me, I know
thankfully, with all my heart, that they are, and should always
remain, priceless.

These "Priceless Boots" on loan to schools by request.

Call Marcia Norton Leeper, 264-2289.

Pagosan airlifted to hospital
following Tuesday crash

By Louis Sherman

Staff Writer

A Pagosa man, Travis Stahr, 28, lost control of the car he was
driving Tuesday night at about 9 p.m. on U.S. 84, approximately one
mile south of U.S. 160. Stahr was injured when the car overturned -
two passengers were unhurt - and likely sustained head injuries,
which required him to be airlifted to Mercy Regional Medical Center
by helicopter, though his condition now appears to be stable, said
Colorado State Patrol Corporal Randy Talbot.

Stahr was the driver in a July 29 head-on collision on U.S. 160
west of Pagosa Springs, in which he was critically injured. Chase
Regester, 20, and Michael Maestas, 22, both of Pagosa Springs, died
from injuries they received in the accident.

According to Talbot, Adrienne Gearhart of Bayfield, the owner of
the vehicle and back-seat passenger, and Coty Cook, of Ignacio, the
front-seat passenger, were not seriously injured and needed no
treatment. None of the occupants of the vehicle were wearing safety
belts.

According to Talbot, Stahr was driving the vehicle south on U.S.
84 when it began to run off the right side of the road. Stahr then
overcorrected the car and it rolled onto its roof, after which it
slid approximately 250 feet down the highway, crossing both lanes of
traffic, eventually coming to rest off the east side of the highway.

Stahr was partially ejected and pinned under the overturned
vehicle. He was extricated by Pagosa Fire Protection District
personnel, said Talbot.

According to Fire Chief Warren Grams, Stahr was extricated and
turned over to EMS for airlift to Durango.

Talbot said that speed was at issue in the accident, but alcohol
was not. The state patrol will continue to investigate the incident.
Charges could be pressed against Stahr for driving without a license
and reckless driving.

Blood drive set for Pagosa

United Blood Services has scheduled a blood drive noon to 4 p.m.
Monday, Nov. 13, at the Pagosa Lakes Clubhouse. The facility is
located at 230 Port Ave. ID is required.

27 new hangars for Stevens
Field, new policies on horizon

By Chuck McGuire

Staff Writer

With physical improvements and positive changes coming fast to
Stevens Field, airport manager George Barter is taking things a few
steps further.

As part of ongoing expansion, Archuleta County plans to construct
27 aircraft hangars on a 12-acre parcel near the new fixed base
operator (FBO) building, and Barter is now seeking bids from
prospective hangar builders and contractors.

Two separate plots are apparently available for development. One
will include 10 hangars at 3,000 square-feet each, while the other
will contain 10 similar hangars and seven additional ones at 10,000
square-feet each. Barter is looking for proposals for either or both
plots.

Once built, hangars will be privately owned, and subject to a
20-year ground lease at 38 cents per square foot. A 20-year lease
extension will also be possible.

Proposals may be mailed to Archuleta County Airport, P.O. Box
4666, Pagosa Springs, CO 81147. A detailed map of the development
areas is available upon request, and those with questions may call
731-3060.

Physical improvements notwithstanding, the airport is also
adopting new policies and operations procedures. In the process,
Barter has issued his first two Stevens Field policy letters,
dictating grounds movement rules and a change in emergency flight
operations.

Airfield Policy 06-01 was issued in response to recent incidents
on or near the airport runway, which seem to indicate a lack of
understanding of airport movement and runway safety regulations.
Essentially, it prohibits all motor vehicles and pedestrians, except
emergency and official airport vehicles and personnel, from driving
on, walking on, or crossing runways 01 and 19.

The restrictions also apply to all areas within 400 feet of either
side of the runway, including the approach and departure areas inside
the fenced airport perimeter - an area referred to as the Runway
Protection Zone.

Barter's letter also suggests vehicle and pedestrian activity on
either side of the airport be restricted to Taxiway Bravo on the
east, and the ramp and hangar areas on the west. According to the
letter, under no circumstances should anyone cross the "hold short"
lines in either area. For those wishing to cross from one side of the
airport to the other, Barter recommends exiting the airport and
re-entering on the opposite side.

Airfield Policy 06-02 reflects a change in emergency flight
operations. Because the reconfiguration of the airport has eliminated
fixed-wing aircraft access to Nick's Hangar, where emergency
evacuations were formerly directed, flight operations have now been
moved to the midfield ramp near the new FBO building.

From here on, according to the new policy, all ambulance
transports to the airport, and emergency flight operations from,
should take place at the midfield ramp location. To get there, rescue
operations and ambulance drivers should travel about a mile northwest
on Piedra Road, turn right on Cloman Boulevard, and follow it another
mile to Aviation Court. Another right turn culminates at the FBO
building and ramp area.

PAWSD acts to improve water
quality, save money

By Chuck McGuire

Staff Writer

The Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District Board of Directors
recently acted on a couple of items aimed at improving water quality
and saving consumers money.

At their regular monthly meeting rescheduled for October 24, the
PAWSD board entertained a request from the Pagosa Lakes Property
Owners Association, asking for matching funds in a joint venture
referred to as the Lake Pagosa Water Quality Enhancement Basin.

According to Larry Lynch, Manager of the PLPOA Department of
Property and Environment, the project is needed to provide
pre-treatment of sediment-laden waters that typically enter the east
side of Lake Pagosa from the Cloman Industrial Park area.

The project is planned for an area between Piedra Road and Sundown
Circle, and will occupy roughly three Lake Pagosa Park lots owned by
the PLPOA.

Apparently, water clarity during spring runoff, and sampling over
the past several years, have repeatedly raised water quality
concerns, and the PLPOA believes constructing the basin will improve
the quality of water entering the lake, while dramatically reducing
sediment. The end result could also maximize available water storage
in Lake Pagosa.

In a September letter sent to the PAWSD board, Lynch said,
"Suspended sediment sampling over the past several years has
identified the inlet as the highest sediment producer of all four
lakes."

At last month's PAWSD meeting, Lynch further described the project
as, "the number one priority of the lakes, and high on the list of
projects identified in the long range Stollsteimer Creek Watershed
Plan, created through joint effort by multiple agencies."

With the latest estimated cost of constructing the enhancement
basin set at $34,000, the PAWSD board agreed to contribute half.
Lynch, meanwhile, assured the board that the PLPOA would cover the
cost of maintaining and dredging the basin every couple of years.

While water quality is always a PAWSD concern, so too, is sound
conservation. At last month's meeting, the board agreed to continue
its toilet rebate program indefinitely, and establish two additional
programs.

As part of a Water Information Program, Denise Rue-Pastin, of
Southwestern Water Conservation District, presented the PAWSD board
with facts and figures illustrating the success of its three-year
toilet rebate program. PAWSD offers a $100 rebate for anyone
reverting to the use of a modern low-flow toilet, and by the October
meeting, 152 outdated fixtures had been replaced in the district,
with annual water savings estimated at 1.67 million gallons.

With 48 additional rebate requests to consider, Rue-Pastin
suggested the board continue the program indefinitely, and the board
agreed.

In light of its successful toilet rebate program, PAWSD is now
pursuing a similar one that will offer rebates to consumers who
switch to high-efficiency clothes washers. On average, Rue-Pastin
estimates consumers using the newer machines will reduce water usage
by 40 percent, saving 5,776 gallons of water a year, per household.

In addition to saving water, Rue-Pastin suggests the new washing
machines will use 50 percent less energy. As a result, La Plata
Electric Association has verbally committed to participating in the
program with PAWSD, and has allotted funds in their 2007 budget for
it. Rebates could total as much as $250 per machine.

In another water-saving scheme, Rue-Pastin introduced a low-flow,
pre-rinse spray valve to the PAWSD board. The devise is designed to
increase water pressure, while drastically reducing usage in
restaurant kitchen sprayers and again, the savings can be
substantial.

Following Rue-Pastin's presentation, the board agreed to initiate
a pilot program with the purchase of 10 of the valves, making them
available to interested restaurateurs, free of charge. Each valve
costs an estimated $400.

Each of these water-saving measures will conceivably save PAWSD a
considerable sum of money, but consumers will also benefit directly,
through reduced monthly water bills.

Zaday sentenced for DWAI
offense

By Louis Sherman

Staff Writer

Archuleta County Commissioner Ronnie Zaday appeared in county
court Nov. 1, Judge James Denvir presiding, to face charges of
driving while ability impaired (DWAI), DUI per se and unsafe backing
- stemming from a motor vehicle incident Aug. 1, in which Zaday
allegedly backed her SUV into a parked vehicle, while under the
influence.

Zaday pleaded guilty to DWAI and not guilty to DUI per se and
unsafe backing. The latter two charges were dismissed by the district
attorney's office.

Zaday was sentenced to 10 days jail (all of which were suspended),
12 months probation with alcohol evaluation and supervision, 24 hours
community service, and was assessed an alcohol evaluation fee, LEAF
fine, brain injury fund fine, victim compensation fund fine,
persistent drunk driving surcharge and other fees and court costs -
all of which totaled $435.

Zaday will also be required to attend a Mothers Against Drunk
Driving victim impact panel Nov. 15.

Reward offered for information
on second lynx killing

For the second time in less than a week, the
Colorado Division of Wildlife reports that a lynx was shot and killed
in southwest Colorado.

A male lynx was found on Nov. 1, near San
Juan County Road 110, also known as the Cement Creek Road located
just north of Silverton. DOW researchers detected a mortality signal
from the cat's radio collar on Oct. 24.

Lynx collars used by the DOW are equipped to
send position information to a satellite. The information is
downloaded to DOW computers once each week. Based on when the signal
was received, the lynx probably died a week earlier.

When researchers found the animal no wounds
were apparent. During the necropsy conducted Tuesday (Nov. 7), small
wounds were found on the body which indicated that lynx was killed by
a shotgun blast.

The cat, captured in Canada as part of the
DOW's lynx reintroduction effort, was released in southwest Colorado
in 2005.

Another lynx that had been shot was found Nov. 2 in the Hermosa Park area about 30 miles north of Durango near the Purgatory ski resort. The necropsy, also completed Tuesday, found that the lynx had been shot twice by a rifle  once in the hip and once in the head.

Not only has the cat been seen at the ski
area, but it has also wandered a wide area into Rico and Telluride.
The cat was famous among DOW researchers because it had been spotted
guarding the carcass of a coyote that it had apparently killed.

In October 2005 two lynx radio collars were
found in southwest Colorado that had been cut off lynx. One was found
in the snow on Missionary Ridge, about 20 miles northeast of Durango.
The other was dropped into the mail slot of the Silverton post
office. The lynx wearing the collars were never found. DOW law
enforcement officers suspect the animals were shot.

The DOW is reintroducing lynx in the
mountains of Colorado. The first lynx were released in 1999. About
200 lynx are believed to be alive in Colorado's southern and central
mountains.

If anyone has information about any of these
incidents, they are asked to call the DOW office in Durango at
(970)375-6744; or Operation Game Thief at 1-877-265-6648. Information
can be given anonymously. The DOW is offering a $500 reward for
information that leads to an arrest in any of these cases.

Salvation Army bell ringers
collecting now

By Jim Haliday

Special to The SUN

It's the time of the year when the Salvation
Army seeks kettle donations. The bell ringers are all unpaid
volunteers who stand in the cold collecting money to help the needy
in Archuleta County. This money is distributed, throughout the year,
to help with expenses such as auto fuel and repairs, dentists,
doctors, food, insurance, lodging, medicine, rent, travel and
utilities.

The Archuleta County Division of the
Salvation Army has distributed approximately $35,000 to the needy in
Archuleta County. This is 98 percent of donations which means that
operating and overhead expenses are only 2 percent. Hopefully, this
will encourage more donations because donors realize that their money
is being well spent.

If you would like to help ring bells any
time between Nov. 18 and Dec. 24, call Jim Haliday at
731-9082.

The Archuleta County Board of County
Commissioners will hold two public hearings on the 2007 annual
budget.

Hearing dates are today, Nov. 9, and
Tuesday, Nov. 14. Both public hearings will begin at 8:30 a.m. and
will take place in the commissioners' meeting room at the county
courthouse, located at 449 San Juan St.

The proposed budget is a 4.61-percent
reduction from the 2006 budget, and significantly reduces historical
reserve spending.

The departmental schedule for the Nov. 9,
2006 hearing is as follows:

8:30-8:45 a.m. Building and Grounds

8:45-9 Veterans Services

9-9:15 County Attorney

9:15-9:30 Human Resources

9:30-9:45 County Extension

9:45-10 County Fair

10-10:15 Break

10:15-10:30 Tourism

10:30-10:45 Coroner

11-1 p.m. Lunch

1-1:30 Seniors

1:30-5 Public Works

The departmental schedule for the Nov. 14,
2006, hearings is as follows:

8-8:30 a.m. Clerk and
Recorder/Elections

8:30-8:45 Nutrition

8:45-9:45 Development Services

9:45-10:15 Assessor

10:15-10:30 Treasurer

10:30-10:45 Break

10:45-11:45 Finance and other non-major
capital projects

11:45-12:15 Administration

12:15-1:15 p.m. Lunch

1:15-2 Commissions

2-2:15 Human Services

2:15-2:45 Airport

2:45-3:15 Information Services

3-3:15 Emergency Operations

2:45-3 Break

3-4 Public Safety/E911

Both hearings are scheduled for the board of
county commissioners' meeting room in the Archuleta County
courthouse.

County seeks public comment
tonight on regional park

Archuleta County has begun making plans for
a 120-acre regional county park located at the north end of Cloman
Boulevard, west of Stevens Field airport. The county has the
opportunity to acquire this property from the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) at virtually no cost, but must furnish a conceptual
plan to the BLM as part of the acquisition agreement.

Using state Conservation Trust Fund money,
which can only be used for recreational purposes, the county has
hired the landscape architecture firm Winston Associates to create a
conceptual design for this property and for the 30 acres of Cloman
property currently owned by the county. As part of this process, the
county seeks public comment on several designs prior to choosing the
final plan. The chosen design will be used to acquire the BLM
property and as a guide for future capital project planning and grant
requests.

The designs will be available for view in
the airport conference room located in Nick's Hangar from 4:30 to
7:30 p.m. tonight, Nov. 9. This is an open house format, so there
will be no formal presentations at this time. Representatives from
Winston Associates and county staff will be on hand to answer
questions and take comments.

Call 731-3877 for more information.

Buy popcorn, support Cub Scouts

Cub Scouts from Pack 807 are in the midst of
their annual pack fund-raiser, selling a variety of popcorn products.

Each scout is responsible, along with his
family, for raising money for the Pack. This annual fund-raiser
provides the budget for the year's activities of the Pack. It pays
for the supplies, badges, awards, necessary equipment, scholarships
for needy scouting families and at least 50 percent of the fees for
any scout to attend summer camp.

Over $21,000 worth of popcorn was sold by
the Pack last year, which resulted in over $6,000 being retained for
the local pack.

The popcorn products are available from any
Cub Scout until Nov. 17. The Scouts have the products in-hand, so it
is a cash-and-carry fund-raiser. Products range in price from $8 to
$50 and include microwaveable packets of popcorn and kettle corn and
six different types of popcorn covered in chocolate, cheese or mixed
with nuts presented in reusable decorative tins of several sizes.

A scout might visit your home or business or
you may see scouts selling the product in front of several stores or
at the Civic Club Bazaar Nov. 4. Contact Lisa Scott at 264-2730 if
you'd like to purchase a popcorn product and have not had a scout
solicit you.

The Pack currently has 47 boys in grades one
through five enrolled in the Cub Scout Pack for this year. The boys
are assigned to Dens and currently there are seven adult leaders
coordinating five dens. There are many other adult leaders involved
in the coordination and organization of Pack activities.

The mission is to provide a means of raising
money for the Cub Scout Pack with which the Pack can establish and
expand its programs and give boys the best scouting experience
possible. Community assistance and support through purchasing popcorn
is appreciated.

Breast cancer support group
meets in Pagosa Springs

By Kathi DeClark

Special to The SUN

Sam Conti, a licensed professional counselor
with over 20 years experience in the mental health field and with
support groups for woman survivors of gender violence, is starting a
breast cancer support group in Pagosa Springs.

The group will meet once a month, at 4 p.m.
on the second Sunday of the month at Conti's office in the Pagosa
Springs Family Medicine Clinic on South Pagosa Boulevard. This group
is for the newly diagnosed, and those who have trudged this road
before. Everyone has something to share. Anyone interested should
plan to attend.

Conti was diagnosed with a stage 2 B Lobar
Carcinoma of the left breast almost eight years ago. After she had a
complete left mastectomy, she went through a series of chemotherapy,
and 47 days of radiation. She did this all the while working in
Ignacio as the clinical supervisor at Peaceful Spirit Treatment
Center.

"It was quite a struggle. If I hadn't had my
friends and others that had gone before me, I couldn't have made it,"
said Conti. She went on to say, "I am so grateful every day for my
life and for the experience I had with cancer, as I came out so far
ahead of where I was. I learned so much about myself and I grew
spiritually. I have so much to give thanks for today. The opportunity
to facilitate this group will be one more opportunity to give back
what I have gained. Won't you join us to share your questions,
strength and hope with others?"

Call 731-9920 for more information.

Workforce Center offers
employment testing

Local employers are struggling to find
qualified employees. The Pagosa Springs Workforce Center, along with
Workforce Centers around the state, have responded by incorporating
online employability testing that can be tailored to meet an
employer's needs. Job seekers also benefit because the tests are not
academic, but test employment skills and can help them market their
skills.

There are two testing programs, WorkKeys and
Qwiz, and another, different program, KeyTrain, that can help an
employee build his or her skills in every area WorkKeys tests.
Nationally-recognized companies provide WorkKeys (ACT) and Qwiz
(Previsor). WorkKeys tests nine areas of employability from Applied
Math to Teamwork and Qwiz have over 350 tests, ranging from
accounting skills and customer service to specific computer
programs.

The Pagosa Springs Workforce Center will
help an employer select the tests that best represent the skills
needed for a specific job description. Staff will also help job
seekers identify the best tests for marketing their skills to
employers. The Pagosa Springs Workforce Center is working on
educating employers about the new value-added services to help them
find qualified employees.

If you are an employer and would like to
know more about all of the free services at the Southwest Colorado
Workforce Centers and about using WorkKeys and QWIZ, including a
demonstration at your office, please call: Kathryn Saley at (970)
563-4517, Ext. 220, or 759-5369. E-mail ksaley@brainstorm.net, phone
The Colorado Workforce Center at 731-3832 or come to the office at 46
Eaton Drive, Suite 4.

Flu shot clinics announced

San Juan Basin Health Department's Pagosa
office will conduct a community flu shot clinic tomorrow, Nov. 10.
The time for the clinic is 8-10 a.m. Adults and children are
welcome.

Additionally, San Juan Basin Health
Department will conduct a flu shot clinic Thursday, Nov. 16, from 10
a.m. to noon at the Catholic Church in Arboles.

Flu shots are $25, and are free for those
who have Medicare, Part B or Rocky Mountain HMO. Bring your insurance
cards.

For more information, call 264-2409.

Students schedule Veterans Day
breakfast Nov. 10

The annual Veterans Day breakfast provided
by eighth-grade students at Pagosa Springs Junior High School, will
take place Friday Nov. 10, due to the Veterans Day holiday falling on
a Saturday this year.

Students will cook and serve breakfast to
all veterans who show up 7:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the Pagosa Springs
Community Center.

The students and their sponsor encourage all
local veterans to attend and enjoy the breakfast.

Planning begins for 2007 Relay
for Life

By Stacia Kemp

Special to The SUN

After a highly successful American Cancer
Society Relay for Life event in Pagosa Springs last summer,
organizers are starting on plans for the 2007 event, scheduled for
June 22 and 23 in Town Park.

A planning meeting is scheduled at 6-7 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 15, at the fire station at 187 North Pagosa Blvd. All
interested people are encouraged to attend.

Committees are forming to put together this
two-day event, which raises money for the American Cancer Society.
Last year, the local event raised over $95,000 gross, which resulted
in the second highest per-capita giving for like-sized communities in
the 12-state Great West Division.

Anyone who would like to play a part in the
fight against cancer is invited to attend the meeting or to call Dick
Babillis (731-9263) for more information.

New low-income senior housing
coming to Pagosa Springs

By Louis Sherman

Staff Writer

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) announced last week more than $633 million in
grants for housing projects for low-income seniors and the disabled -
over $2.7 million going to Housing Solutions for the Southwest for
new low-income senior housing in Pagosa Springs.

The HUD section 202 grant will be used to
construct a 20-unit, two-story building for 19 senior residents and
one resident manager on the corner of South 8th and Apache streets,
next to Casa de los Arcos (of the Archuleta County Housing
Authority).

Though Casa de los Arcos is owned by the
Archuleta County Housing Authority, the new facility will not be. It
will be developed, owned, and managed by Housing Solutions - on land
leased from the housing authority - said Kim Welty, executive
director of Housing Solutions for the Southwest.

According to Welty, HUD bases its grants on
its own assessment of the costs of construction and development - an
estimate that is not fully accurate - so Housing Solutions will seek
"gap funding" in the form of pre-development grants, funds from the
state division of housing and local support (including potential fee
waivers from the town).

According to HUD's Web site, the section 202
grant program "helps expand the supply of affordable housing with
supportive services for the elderly. It provides very low-income
elderly with options that allow them to live independently but in an
environment that provides support activities such as cleaning,
cooking and transportation.

"In addition ... HUD Section 202 grants will
subsidize rents for three years so that residents will pay only 30
percent of their adjusted incomes as rent."

Housing Solutions will receive $2,515,600 in
a capital advance for the construction of the new facility and
$190,800 for a three-year rental subsidy.

U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard, of Colorado,
announced the grant in a press release.

Allard is current chairman of the Banking
Subcommittee on Housing and Transportation.

Two other Colorado non-profits received 202
grants - in Longmont and Montrose - while a Greeley housing facility
for low-income persons with severe physical disabilities was funded
under a HUD section 811 grant.

In total, Colorado received nearly $16
million in grants through the HUD 202 and 811 grant programs.

In comparison, Louisiana (a state of similar
size) received nearly $10.5 million - some five million less despite
Hurricane Katrina. (Katrina-ravaged Mississippi receive no HUD
funding.)

California, the nation's most populace
state, received over $76 million, while Wyoming, with the country's
fewest residents, received no funding.

Alaska and Vermont, both minimally populated
states of similar size, did receive grant funds, though Vermont was
given nearly $6 million more than Alaska.

All things were not equal in section 202 and
811 grant decisions, but Colorado came out ahead of the game -
pulling in more grants funds than California, per capita.

Archuleta Roots Day -
celebrating our heritage

By Musetta Wollenweber

Special to The SUN

Were you born or raised in Pagosa Springs?
Do you believe your roots are here in Archuleta County?

It's time to acknowledge those people with
long life ties to the place that we all call home. The Den would like
to recognize folks 60 and older who have lived most of their lives in
Archuleta County on Archuleta Roots Day, Thursday, Nov. 30.

To kick off the festivities for our
homegrown seniors, the San Juan Basin Health Department, in
conjunction with Promoviendo la Salud, will offer a mini health
clinic, beginning at 10 a.m. A blood screening is available to check
your cholesterol and glucose levels. You'll also have the opportunity
to check your blood pressure, body mass Index, (how much padding do
you have?) pulseoximetry, (what is your blood oxygen level?) and
spirometer, (what is your lung function?). Participants are asked to
fast - no food for at least 12 hours for accurate results - and a $15
donation is suggested.

At 11, join us for a Medicare presentation
including information on the Medicare D program. There will be
helpful information available on a variety of topics from diabetes to
the senior center activities.

At 11:30 , we will be entertained c by the
talented John Graves on piano. Then, at noon, we will sit down to a
free lunch including roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, green
beans, dinner roll, salad bar and apple crisp for dessert,
compliments of The Den, to honor those folks with Archuleta Roots.
(Donations will be accepted.)

We will have first, second and third prizes
for those who have lived in Archuleta County the longest.

To participate in this cheerful affair,
reservations must be made with The Den by Monday, Nov. 27. Provide
your name and how long you have lived in the area.

Don't miss out on this special occasion to
visit with old friends. Tell your family, friends and neighbors about
Archuleta Roots Day and come to The Den to celebrate; but don't
forget to make your reservation so we'll have enough food.

This office, along with others in Silverton, Marble and the
Eisenhower Tunnel, cover all the Colorado mountain highways. The
Avalanche Center's main office is located with the National Weather
Service in Boulder.

Local avalanche forecaster Mark Mueller begins his 30th winter of
avalanche forecasting and control. Groups or individuals interested
in avalanche safety or any other snow avalanche related matters can
contact Mueller at the Wolf Creek Pass Avalanche Office at 264-4826.

The Colorado Avalanche Information Center will provide a daily
statewide mountain weather and avalanche hazard forecast for
interested backcountry winter travelers beginning mid-November. The
CAIC hotline for the San Juan Mountains is located in Durango and can
be reached at 247-8187. Daily forecasts and additional information
can be found on the Avalanche Center's Web site,
www.geosurvey.co.state.us/avalanche/. A day spent in the mountains in
winter should start with a call to the Center's Avalanche Hotline or
Web site. Another useful Web link, and an easier one to remember, is
www.avalanche.org.

A community avalanche awareness talk will be given at 7-9 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 14, at the Pagosa Springs Community Center on Hot
Springs Boulevard. The talk is free and will cover basic avalanche
safety information. All interested winter backcountry travelers are
encouraged to attend. Call 264-4826 for more information.

Prescribed burn on Southern Ute
tribal land

By Chuck McGuire

Staff Writer

In case you're wondering, the smoke you've seen rising from
Sandoval Mesa northeast of Arboles the past few days is not the
result of wildfire.

On Monday, the Southern Ute Agency announced that it would conduct
a prescribed burn of 331 acres, with visible smoke every afternoon,
for five days. Burning is scheduled to continue today and tomorrow,
between noon and 4:30 p.m.

Sandoval Mesa is approximately five miles northeast of Arboles on
the Southern Ute Indian Reservation. The actual burn is located in
sections 18, 19 and 30, Township 33 North, Range 4 West, and sections
24 and 25, Township 33 North, Range 5 West of the New Mexico
Principal Meridian. More precisely, the burn area is 37º 5' 15"
North Latitude and 107º 19' 56" West Longitude.

For more information regarding this prescribed burn, or other
planned burns, call the Southern Ute Agency at (970) 563-4571 or
(970) 563-4572.

Lynx shot near Durango, DOW
seeks information

The Colorado Division of Wildlife is seeking
information about a lynx that was shot and killed during the last
week of October in the Hermosa Park area about 30 miles north of
Durango.

The lynx, a 9-year-old male, which was
transplanted from British Columbia, was known to have ranged in a
wide area between the Purgatory ski area, and the towns of Rico and
Telluride. DOW officials were alerted when they received a mortality
signal from the radio collar that had been placed on the cat when it
was released in 2000.

A wildlife officer and a lynx researcher
located the cat on Nov. 2. It was found in a heavily-wooded area in
big game management Unit 74. The lynx was killed sometime during the
second big game rifle hunting season which ended Oct. 29.

"We are hoping that an observant sportsman
might have seen something that can help us solve this crime," said
Patt Dorsey, area wildlife manager for the DOW in Durango. "We'd like
to know the circumstances of why a lynx was killed. It's possible
that this is a mistake or an accidental kill and there is a regretful
person out there who would feel better making this right."

The DOW's Operation Game Thief receives more
than 100 tips each year from the public about wildlife crimes.

The DOW is reintroducing lynx in the
mountains of Colorado. The first lynx were released in 1999. About
200 lynx are believed to be alive in Colorado's southern and central
mountains.

If anyone has information about this
incident, they are asked to call the DOW office in Durango at
(970)247-0855; or Operation Game Thief at 1-877-265-6648. Information
can be given anonymously.

Forest Service conducts burn in
Devil Creek area today

Fire managers from the Pagosa Ranger
District are conducting a prescribed burn, started yesterday and
lasting through today, Nov. 9, approximately 11 miles northwest of
Pagosa Springs in the Devil Creek area.

Conditions permitting, 33 to 100 acres will
be burned south of the East Monument Park Road (Forest Service Road
630). Smoke may be visible from the Piedra Road and several
subdivisions in the Pagosa Lakes area. Daytime smoke is expected to
disperse to the north and nighttime smoke will settle into the Devil
Creek drainage.

Burning will occur along a closed road in
the area and Forest Service Road 630 will remain open. Firefighters
will be burning heavy thinning slash from a previous fuels reduction
and forest health project.

The public is invited to attend the next
meeting of the Government Water Roundtable at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Nov.
15, at the San Juan Public Lands Center in Durango.

The focus of the meeting will be to discuss
water-related sections of the San Juan Public Lands plan revisions,
including Wild and Scenic River provisions.

Opportunities for public interaction and
questions will be offered throughout the day.

Meetings are hosted by the San Juan Public
Lands Center to discuss management of water on BLM and U.S. Forest
Service lands in southwestern Colorado. Information gathered at the
meetings will be incorporated into the upcoming San Juan National
Forest Land Management Plan and the BLM Resource Management
Plan.

For more information, go to:
http://ocs.fortlewis.edu/forestplan/ and click on Governmental Water
Roundtable, or contact Kelly Palmer at 385-1232.

Catch and Release

A correspondent in Baghdad?
Perhaps not

By James Robinson

Staff Writer

My brother called last Wednesday to tell me
he had volunteered for a tour in Iraq. Two days earlier he celebrated
his thirty-seventh birthday. He is married and has two
children.

My brother is a chief in the United States
Navy. He enlisted when he was 20, and soon thereafter began a career
in Naval aviation. He has made a good go of it. He is close to
earning a bachelor's degree, has flown countless missions from air
bases around the world, and intends to obtain a master's. He thinks
about becoming a teacher. He'll do it all on the Navy's dime. He sees
volunteering for Iraq as a necessary career move. He wants a star on
his chief's anchor. We don't talk about what he thinks about the war.
For him it is business, the tour a résumé
builder.

On the phone, when he told me the news, he
was giddy, like a sailor with his first tattoo, like a freshman going
on his first big date, but my brother is neither. He is experienced,
understands the risks, and is a family man. And I'm sure the
implications of the decision - the impact on him and his family and
thoughts of an untimely death - mixed with a touch of bravado, and an
adrenaline rush from volunteering to serve in the deadliest place on
the planet, created a strange emotional elixir. He was wired but
ready.

I told him he hadn't made a wise decision,
but that I understood. There was a time when I was also ready to go
to Iraq, and although the circumstances were different, my
motivations were the same.

I had spent years preparing for the journey.
I studied Middle Eastern politics and history, learned Arabic, and
visited the region twice. During my junior year at the University of
New Mexico, I won a scholarship and planned to study in Yemen, where
I would complete my senior thesis and hone language skills. I had
planned to leave Sept. 28, 2001. Yet, when I watched the second
airplane crash into the World Trade Center, I watched my semester
abroad, and thousands of lives, vaporize like so much metal and
steel. And in those moments, I knew the course of our country, and my
course, would change.

I persisted.

By the time the U.S. invaded Iraq, I had
earned my degree, and I saw opportunity in the invasion and a chance
to make a name for myself as a war correspondent. But when Daniel
Pearl turned up dead and decapitated and other journalists began
coming home in body bags, I began to question my motivations. When it
became clear our "quick in, quick out" strategy was unraveling and
the mission was far from accomplished, I probed deeper. Was my life
worth a news story or front-page photograph?

With the burden of the question bearing
down, I left Albuquerque one June weekend three years ago to sort
things out. I had to make a decision. While sitting in a barbershop
in the Rio Grande valley south of Albuquerque, my father listened to
Phil, my barber, and a group of old men speaking Spanish in hushed
reverent tones. My father is not fluent, but he knows enough to
understand the meaning of "truchas muy grande" when he hears it. That
phrase, coupled with the words "South Fork of the Rio Grande" and
"Creede" sent him straight home with freshly trimmed hair and
maniacal intent. That afternoon we packed our gear and at four the
next morning began the drive north in search of "very large trout."
It was just what I needed.

On the second night of the trip, we camped
along the South Fork and as the day dissipated and an evening
thunderstorm blew in, we separated, each to cast flies to his own
section of river - he venturing downstream and me up. After walking
for about 15 minutes, I entered the stream. It ran fast and high,
swollen and tempestuous with snowmelt. I waded in up to my hips,
secured my footing, tied on a number 12 Parachute Adams, peeled line
from the reel and began to cast. The drakes were hatching and I could
do no wrong. And as I fought muscular Brown trout in the deep current
and felt the weight of the evening settle in, I thought about my
career path. Did I really want my severed head delivered to my
colleagues in a grocery sack?

I pondered the question further while
casting down the twilight, and concluded, that my life was worth far
more than a news story. And there, while standing in the South Fork
and casting in the fading light with the rain coming down, I decided,
in an epiphanic moment, there was no place else I'd rather be. I
would live in southwestern Colorado and pursue Brown trout, not a
career in Baghdad. I would surely live longer, I thought. But in the
end, I'm dying just the same.

So I understand my brother's decision, and
truth be told, if given the chance, I would probably go today and for
similar reasons as he. Bravado, adrenaline, curiosity and the desire
to make a name for one's self form a strange and powerful tonic. The
elixir, once concocted, is often irresistible. But it also tells much
about our society and our national psyche when young people perceive
war as a career option or résumé builder. The paradoxes
are Orwellian. War is peace. Love is hate. Security is guaranteed
when we sacrifice our freedoms. And now that thousands of our young
men and women have sacrificed their lives in Iraq, do we feel safer?
Are we really freer? Is it clear what they have made their sacrifices
in for?

My brother will arrive in Iraq just after
Thanksgiving. He will spend at least six months there. He does not
know his mission. We have plans to ski Wolf Creek and to fish the
South Fork. I hope to teach his 10-year-old son to fly fish. But for
now, we don't talk about the future. We live solely in the
present.

This war touches everyone. Every soldier is
someone's brother or sister, mother or father, son or daughter, or
friend. And after nearly 3,000 American deaths, and three years of
fighting, the administration is finally starting to come clean - we
have been lied to since the beginning. Iraq did not have weapons of
mass destruction and Iraqis did not take down the Twin Towers. Our
decision to invade was predicated on dubious intelligence reports, on
motivations that will probably never be entirely revealed. But
despite these truths, we have allowed, and continue to allow, our
servicemen and women to be sent out like sheep to the slaughter. Is
this all our country, the wealthiest most powerful nation on the
planet, has to offer as career options for its youth? If so, we
should be ashamed. This is a tragedy of the most colossal
kind.

In the end, perhaps my brother and thousands
of other servicemen and women will be able to list their service in
Iraq as a bullet point on a résumé. For the dead, maybe
historians will one day be able to explain away their sacrifice
within the scope of a greater, geopolitical or hegemonic context. For
the wounded and dismembered, they will bear the scars of this great
debacle.

And maybe my brother will get that star on
his anchor. But star or no star, I just hope he, and all the others,
come home soon. And when they do, if they need to cast away memories
of the horror, I'll have a fly rod lined and ready. The river is just
outside my door.

Letters

Cut and run

Dear Editor:

Cut and run, or stay the course (oops, we
don't say that anymore). Not so for Bechtel - the giant engineering
company is leaving Iraq. "Mission not accomplished" to rebuild power,
water and sewage plants.

Baghdad received less than six hours a day
of electricity last month, and much of Iraq's population lives with
untreated sewage and without clean water. But Bechtel (which received
$2.3 billion) has decided it's achieved all that's possible on it's
government contracts. One wonders how the families of the Bechtel
employees who died in Iraq will be compensated. Maybe not worker's
compensation, since warfare is typically excluded!

Britain formed Iraq as a country and their
first democratic government in 1927. Oddly enough, this was the same
year that a local oil field was discovered. The British then
controlled the major portion of Iraq's oil until nationalization
occurred in 1972. By the early 1930s, England's regional officers
unwittingly confirmed the underlying motive in forming Iraq - that
the Iraqis would rather kill each other over tribal/sect loyalties
than focus on who controls their oil. England is our only major ally
in the current Iraq war. Hmm, it all sounds vaguely familiar.

Pulling our troops out could "darkly benefit
the U.S." by enabling the Shia and Sunni to continue to wage war and
in turn on al Qaeda! Whatever the real current tactic the UN is not
the answer, but rather the Sunni Arab national leaders. They have no
interest in allowing Iran (Shia) to expand their area of control or
for that matter al Qaeda who maybe pan Arabic but is without a true
"base," and thus can be isolated, open for destruction by fellow
Arabs. The matching U.S. diplomatic tactic could be to enable Turkey
to join the EU in exchange for allowing the Kurds independence in
what was northern Iraq! Sounds terrible, maybe to western democratic
ears, but not theirs, the Mideast is just much more honestly a souk
(market place) where all is negotiable regardless of religious
rhetoric or amount of blood spilt and authority remains the only
functional answer and where the past however ancient will be the
future.

Yes, we should not have invaded. Yes, nearly
100,000 Iraqis have died in Iraq II. Yes, our death toll nears 3,000
with many thousands more badly injured. Yes, the nightly TV death
report speaks extraordinarily highly of our troops. But the choice
forced on America isn't between "good" (stay the course) and "bad"
(cut and run); but rather which option is the best of the bad. To
find the way out, you have to try to understand and think (not act)
like your opponent.

Dave Blake

Cross country congrats

Dear Editor:

I would like to congratulate the Pagosa
cross country teams and coaches Scott Anderson, JD Kurz and Hope
Skandera, on a brilliant season. I've attended several meets this
fall and have been impressed with the dedication, perseverance and
great sportsmanship of these young people, as well as their athletic
prowess.

But wait; there's more! I attended a
celebratory luncheon in a Colorado Springs restaurant after the state
meet, and was reminded of another luncheon, this one in an idyllic
Yorkshire village last June. We were enjoying a quiet talk with an
old friend when into the pub burst 12 middle-aged men. That ended any
possibility of conversation; their noisy rudeness made the setting a
misery. In contrast, the Pirates' luncheon was a joy. We were in a
crowded room reserved for the teams and parents; it could have been
raucous and deafening. Instead, because of their unfailing good
manners, the prevailing atmosphere was one of happy freedom and
civility, which in no way impeded the teams' ability to enjoy their
triumphs. Meanwhile, the parents seated in booths enjoyed
conversations at normal levels!

These boys and girls are well on their way
to being world citizens. It speaks volumes for their families and
coaches. I wish them all success in life, and am betting that they
achieve it.

Laurels to those who arranged the
spectacular send-off to the teams on Friday morning. It's great to
see such support for these athletes.

Anita Briggs

No shortage of heroes

Dear Editor:

Heroism in a military uniform is not in
style in certain circles today in America. Real heroism, for us, is
scarcely conceivable apart from victimhood. I'm beginning to suspect
that American movie audiences scarcely know what the old-fashioned
hero even looks like anymore, the sort who dares greatly and succeeds
by mastering his enemies.

With the post-Vietnam reaction against the
military and its culture, the U.S. armed forces came to be routinely
depicted as institutionally vicious and corrupt and individuals
soldiers as pathetic victims.

One can only wonder if this mindset has ever
completely vanished from some sanctums of today's liberal news media.
It seems many in the media are willing to highlight only the actions
of service members who can be portrayed as either victims or
villains. But remember, a nation that ignores, or, worse, attacks its
heroes, erodes and disparages its own ethos.

Whatever the case may be, it remains a fact
that there has been no shortage of genuine heroes in Afghanistan and
Iraq. Already, well over a million GIs can call themselves veterans
of these conflicts.

So what does the nation owe this newest
generation of warriors? What comes to mind immediately are respect
and recognition. They are placing their lives on the line for a
society largely unable to identify with their sacrifices. With those
in uniform constituting the mere fraction of 1% of the population, it
is the least the public can do.

This lack of a shared sense of sacrifice is
a subject that occasionally comes up in newspaper print, but not
often enough. No doubt it is one of the most challenging and
uncomfortable subjects in American society - this lack of shared
responsibility, across all social and economic classes, in the
nation's defense. We support the troops, but most of us have no
interest in seeing our own families engaged directly.

We have a great divide in this country -
between the military culture and the civilian culture, and it has
never been more pronounced than it is right now. Maybe it's time we
ask ourselves, "Who's fighting for us in the fight of our lives?"
Brave, idealistic Southerners. Hispanics from New Mexico. Rural men
and women from upstate New York. Small-town boys and girls from the
Midwest and the Four Corners.

The theatre in which one fights has no
bearing on the value of his or her service. The act of volunteering
to be sent wherever your country needs you must be acknowledged as a
priceless gift from the individual citizen to his or her country.
This gift's morality doesn't depend on the rightness or wrongness of
any war, but on the soldier's high-stakes commitment to the value of
our democratic experiment.

By spreading the message of
respect/recognition, veterans can make the public understand the real
meaning of Veterans Day. That message is: We are all in this
together; we will not give up! We will not "cut and run!"

Jim Sawicki

Special people

Dear Editor:

Last evening, I attended a town council
meeting and observed why the people of Pagosa Springs are so
special.

Mark Garcia gave a report on the battle
against cancer by one of the town's employees. Mark informed the
council that the battle is being won; however, the town employee had
used all of the vacation and sick leave benefits allotted. Mark
further reported that the employees of Pagosa Springs had asked the
council if they could gift their unused sick leave to a fellow
worker.

The council have their unanimous support to
the employees' request to help one of their fellow workers in
need.

I want to honor the town council, Mark
Garcia and all of the employees of Pagosa Springs for giving us a
wonderful example of humanity and caring.

For the next three weeks the church will be
transformed into a colorful workshop.

Proceeds from this bazaar make it possible
for the church Supper Fellowship group to support the ministry in the
church and the community. Last year, more than 750 wreaths and 175
table arrangements were made, netting a five-figure profit.

Originally, the purpose of the bazaar was to
raise funds for the needs of the church. However, in recent years, as
the name of our church indicates, the Community United Methodist
Church has contributed over 50 percent of its profits from the bazaar
to more than a dozen non-profit organizations in our town.

Between 40 to 50 workers will gather daily
Nov. 15 to Dec. 6 to create beautiful holiday decorations. Please
note the bazaar will close Nov. 23, 24 and 25 so workers can enjoy
the Thanksgiving weekend with their friends and families.

Volunteers from the community are welcome to
come and work - we can always use more creative elves! Hours are 9
a.m.-3 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 to noon Saturday.

Do you need a beautiful cornucopia or candle
centerpiece for your Thanksgiving table? We encourage you to come by
and place an order before Nov. 20. Small table arrangements are $15
to $25, medium-size arrangements $26 to $35, and large, $36 and
up.

Deadline for orders is Wednesday, Nov. 29. A
maximum 750 wreathes will be made, so get your order in early.

PowerHouse dinner and auction
cancelled

By Roger Betts

Special to the PREVIEW

The PowerHouse dinner and auction scheduled
for 6:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 10, has been cancelled.

The organizers apologize for the late notice
and the inconvenience to anyone who had planned to attend.

'Nuncrackers' cast cracking up
at rehearsals

By Dale Morris

Special to The PREVIEW

Those zany nuns from Hoboken are at it
again, in rehearsal for another Pagosa Springs Music Boosters
Nunsense production called "Nuncrackers" - a show by Dan Goggin, sure
to have you rolling in the aisles.

We are delighted to have Mary McKeehan,
Kathy Isberg, Candy Flaming and Amber Farnham reprising their
antic-filled roles in this holiday show. We also present our own Lisa
Hartley, who usually works from the orchestra pit, on stage this time
as the lovable Sister Amnesia.

Our cast includes the children of Hoboken -
Ricky Peterson, Ami Harbison, Brooke Hampton and Colin Oliver, all of
whom just completed performing in "Joseph ..." this past summer.

"Nuncrackers" offers the opportunity for a
male actor to play a role in a musical usually reserved for women,
and Jarrett Heber portrays Father Virgil Manly Trott.

Sue Anderson, our musical director, has been
pounding the keys in support of the more than 25 musical numbers.

As usual, our biggest challenge in this
production is trying to get through rehearsals despite constant
side-splitting laughter caused by our nuns as they learn their roles.

"Nuncrackers" plays Nov. 30, and Dec. 1 and
2 at the Pagosa Springs High School auditorium at 7:30 p.m., with a
matinee at 2 p.m. Dec. 2.

Advanced seating tickets are available at
the Plaid Pony (731-5262) or at the door.

Join other writers Thursdays at
Shy Rabbit

Writing is a solitary art. Any opportunity
for a writer to interact with other writer's is a valuable endeavor.
"Brown Bag Writers" provides that opportunity.

Writers of all levels meet every Thursday
between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. at Shy Rabbit Contemporary Arts. New
writers come to learn about the craft; experienced writers come to
stir up the creative soup and take a break from their regular writing
projects.

In this relaxed and casual environment,
writers are provided creative prompts and given the opportunity to
share their work aloud with others. Averaging about five writers per
week, the group is diverse and fun. Freelance writer Leanne Goebel
facilitates, providing writing prompts.

Bring your writing tools (pens, paper,
notebooks, laptop) and a sack lunch if you would like. The cost if $5
per session and drop-ins are welcome.

Shy Rabbit is located at 333 Bastille Drive,
Units B-1, B-4. Take U.S. 160 to North Pagosa Boulevard, stay on
North Pagosa to Bastille Drive (at UBC), turn left and stay on
Bastille past Hopi. Shy Rabbit is located directly next to Pine
Valley Rental. (GPS coordinates are latitude N37 degrees, 15.193
minutes and longitude W107, 5.074 minutes).

For more information, log onto
http://shyrabbit.blogspot.com or call 731-2766.

'Messiah' sing-along needs
additional voices

By Carroll Carruth

Special to The PREVIEW

The "Messiah" sing-along sectional
rehearsals began Sunday, Nov. 5, and will be held each Sunday
afternoon in November in preparation for the annual communitywide
Christmas Sing-Along, Dec. 10, at the Community United Methodist
Church in Pagosa Springs.

We had our first sectional rehearsal Sunday
and it went well; but, we need a few more singers. No experience
required!

Anyone interested?

Participation in the rehearsals is not
required for participation in the sing-along in December; but the
practices are provided, primarily, for those who are interested in
participating but have never before sung the choruses from Handel's
"Messiah," and for those who do not own a vocal score.

Call Carroll Carruth at 731-5016 for further
information.

Fort Collins ceramicist in
'Forms, Figures, Symbols' at Shy Rabbit

By Denise Coffee

Special to The PREVIEW

Fort Collins ceramicist Paul F. Morris, and
Chicago fine art photographer Patrick Linehan, are two of the 43
artists featured in "Forms, Figures, Symbols," a juried exhibition of
contemporary works, on view through Nov. 28, at Shy Rabbit
Contemporary Arts.

In this continuing profile series, we take a
closer look at the works of Morris and Linehan whose work was
selected for this exhibition by juror Gerry Riggs.

Paul F. Morris currently resides in Fort
Collins with his fiber-artist wife, Paula Giovanini-Morris. He
received his M.A. in ceramics from the University of Northern Colo.,
Greeley, and his B.F.A. from Colorado State University, summa cum
laude, with double studio concentrations in pottery with Richard
DeVore, and sculpture with Gary Voss.

Included in the 59 unique pieces on display
in "Forms, Figures, Symbols," is Morris's "Stony Arcuated Ewer,"
2006, a tall sculptural vessel constructed of stoneware, measuring
29x 7x15 deep. His intensely textural and colorful surfaces are
achieved by multiple firings, a process that is highly
labor-intensive and time consuming.

"My current work in pottery is characterized
by a strongly sculptural, figurative presence," stated Morris.

"The pots I make are sculptural ewers, that
is, pouring vessels. Implied uses inherent in the vessel archetype
and the interplay of positive and negative sculptural spaces inform
my exploration of behavioral reciprocity with my ewers: filling and
emptying, giving and receiving, containing and dispensing,
communication and understanding."

Morris continued: "I try very hard to make
work that is visually interesting/exciting, palpable, and
conceptually consistent with the long history of pottery/ceramics
while being suitably relevant to the human experience of our
time."

Morris' professional roles include teaching
ceramics, art appreciation, and drawing at various Colorado colleges,
including the University of Northern Colorado, as well as working as
an artist consultant for public works projects for the City of Fort
Collins. His work has been exhibited in numerous solo, two-person and
group exhibitions, and was recently selected for the Best of Colorado
Artists exhibition at the Denver International Airport, scheduled in
conjunction with the Denver Art Museum's new Frederick C. Hamilton
Building opening.

Morris' sculptures and pottery are included
in several prestigious publications, including "500 Pitchers:
Contemporary Expressions of a Classic Form," by Suzanne J.E.
Tourtillott, (Lark Books, 2006).

Patrick Linehan was born in Chicago in 1953,
and currently lives in Evanston, Ill., with his wife and three
children, where he works as a black and white fine art photographer.
Linehan studied with Harry Callahan and Aaron Siskind at Rhode Island
School of Design, earning a B.F.A. in photography in 1975, and an
M.F.A. from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in
1980.

Linehan has been a photographer since 1970,
and has worked as a commercial photographer since 1981, specializing
in architectural, industrial and product photography. "I have always
been concerned with how a three-dimensional space translates to a
two-dimensional surface", he said.

Linehan made time to create his own artwork
while building his commercial business, as demonstrated by several
bodies of work that emerged in 1997, including photographs from
Greece, Spain, Chicago, and New Mexico. Although he thinks that each
photograph stands on its own, Linehan chooses to work in series,
often returning to the same location in a conscious attempt to add to
his exploration and expression of that place.

"In the more than thirty years that I have
been a photographer, I have been drawn to working with landscapes,
both natural and man-made", stated Linehan. "Whether working in a
wilderness or urban landscape, I am not concerned with documenting a
place, but rather with how the environment makes me feel. More than a
mere record of these places, the resulting pictures are instead a
response to them", he continued.

"My photographs use light, shadow, form and
texture to define a space," Linehan added. "Watching and waiting for
these elements to come together and using them to express my feelings
will, hopefully, result in photographs that allow the viewer to see
the world in a new and different way."

Shy Rabbit is showing two of Linehan's black
and white fine art photographs in its current exhibition. "Chicago
#4" is a carbon ink print taken in 2000, and measures 25x20 (framed).
It is part of a series of 26 black and white photographs that make up
his Chicago Portfolio. The second photograph, "Milwaukee #8," is also
a carbon ink print (the same size as the previous), and was taken at
the Milwaukee Art Museum in 2002. It is part of a series of 25 black
and white photographs that make up his Recent Architectural Images
series.

Linehan's work is included in the
collections of The Library of Congress, The Museum of Modern Art and
many private and corporate collections.

"Forms, Figures, Symbols" is on display in
both the small gallery space up front, as well as the larger 1,000
square-foot exhibition space.

Founded in March 2005, Shy Rabbit continues
to transform and expand, recently adding 2,000 square feet of space
that will unify the art space into one cohesive 4,000 square-foot
facility on the west side of town. Shy Rabbit has hosted numerous art
exhibitions, in addition to a variety of educational workshops,
artist gatherings, lectures/slide-presentations, and weekly writer's
groups.

"Forms, Figures, Symbols" runs through Nov.
28. Regular gallery hours are Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday from
1-4 p.m., and 1-6:30 p.m. on the second Thursday of the month.
Visitors are welcome to call or stop by during non-posted hours.
Private viewings are also available. Call 731-2766 to schedule an
appointment.

Shy Rabbit is located at 333 Bastille Drive,
B-1 through B-4, one block north of U.S. 160 off of North Pagosa
Boulevard. For additional information, e-mail shyrabbit01@aol.com or
visit http://shyrabbit.blogspot.com.

'Let's Explore' contemporary
art

Gerry Riggs plans to show 160 images of
contemporary art during his "Let's Explore" presentation at Shy
Rabbit Contemporary Arts at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 9, beginning at
6:30 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the presentation will last
approximately an hour and a half.

"Let's Explore" contemporary art with Gerry
Riggs is one night only, Nov. 9, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m.
with a suggested donation of $10.

Shy Rabbit is located at 333 Bastille Drive,
Units B-1, B-4, west of downtown, and just south of the Pagosa Lakes
area. Take U.S. 160 to North Pagosa Boulevard, stay on North Pagosa
to Bastille Drive (at UBC), turn left and stay on Bastille past Hopi.
Shy Rabbit is located directly next to Pine Valley Rental. (GPS
coordinates are latitude N37 degrees, 15.193 minutes and longitude
W107, 5.074 minutes).

For more information: log onto
http://shyrabbit.blogspot.com or call 731-2766.

How does that work? Lifelong
Learning lecture has some answers

By Biz Greene

Special to The PREVIEW

Dr. Chuck Carson brings a light-hearted
approach to how things work for the next Lifelong Learning lecture at
the Sisson Library on Saturday, Nov. 4, at 3 p.m.

Be prepared for the unexpected as Carson
explains why you always end up in a line at the City Market checkout
("the behavior of queues"), why the moon rises at sunset, what makes
our cell phones and microwaves and CT scans work, and even such
topics from probability as the "let's make a deal" quandary.

Carson brings 32 years of experience in
systems research at Sandia Labs figuring out how things work and how
to make them work better. He'll be offering us an inside look at the
workings of everyday things as well as some from antiquity that we
wonder about (the Cliff Palace), and the "learning curve" involved in
how we know what we know (or never learn).

This lecture promises to be one of the most
unusual and perhaps the most entertaining in the Lifelong Learning
series of lectures by the Fort Lewis College Professional
Associates.

The lecture is free and open to the
public.

Pagosa author releases new book

James Robinson

Staff Writer

Local author Victoria Rose has published her
second work of nonfiction, "Apple Cider Vinegar."

The paperback volume, available locally at
Wolftracks Bookstore, and published by the "supported self
-publishing" house, iUniverse, features the history and folklore of
apple cider vinegar, medical research information, medicinal,
cosmetic and household uses and information on commercial and home
production.

But with scores of titles on the subject,
why another book?, Rose asks.

She answers that question in her
introduction, "This book answers questions about apple cider vinegar
that have not been asked before."

For example, Rose writes, her work includes
medical evidence to support why apple cider vinegar is effective for
common ailments; includes a discussion about the quality of cider
vinegar available to consumers today; and step-by step directions for
making apple cider vinegar at home.

The book includes a glossary, and
bibliography. References to the bibliographic entries are cited in
the text.

Rose's work includes two nonfiction titles
and six works of fiction, including a sci-fi romance trilogy.

Remembering family at Christmas

By Matthew Lowell Brunson

Special to The PREVIEW

As the Community Choir is gearing up for our
Christmas Concert in December, some of us are reminded of the loved
ones we have lost over the years.

The choir is placing a special section in
our program this year to remember those we have lost. We would like
to invite members of the community who would like to give a $25 gift
in honor or memory of friends, family members or events, to support
the Pagosa Springs Community Choir. These honorariums will be printed
in our Christmas Concert program.

If you are interested, contact Valley
Lowrance at 731-9184 for details. All gifts need to be received by
Nov. 24.

Fifth annual free Thanksgiving
dinner scheduled

Nov. 19

Centerpoint Church (formerly First Baptist
Church) of Pagosa Springs will host the fifth annual Thanksgiving
Celebration Dinner for the community beginning at 5 p.m. Sunday, Nov.
19.

This event is sponsored by the Missions
Committee, the "First Fruits" outreach of the deacons, and by a
number of members of the church.

Each year, the church invites those who will
not have the opportunity to celebrate the Thanksgiving season with
family members, those who are in assisted living homes, those who may
not be able to provide a meal on Thanksgiving Day and those who wish
to have a wonderful meal with friends and neighbors of the community.

A delicious meal is prepared by members of
the church and is free to those who attend. Any person or family who
desires to come may call the church office at 731-2205 and make
reservations for the dinner.

This outreach program is a way in which the
church can help the community celebrate the blessings the Lord has
provided in the past year.

Special music will be provided by the Pagosa
Springs Children's Chorale.

Precept Upon Precept Bible
study

By Laura Manley

Special to The PREVIEW

The next session of Precept Upon Precept,
the inductive Bible study pioneered by Kay Arthur, will begin Nov. 20
and will continue until Feb. 1.

The study this session will be on Numbers,
the fourth book of the Five Books of Moses.

When the Israelites cried out to God, he
raised up Moses to bring them out of slavery and into the Promised
Land. The people rebelled and suffered the terrible consequence of
wandering in the wilderness. Are you following the Lord to the place
where He wants you to be?

Join us for this study of Numbers. The study
leader and teacher will be Jerri Anderson, of Grace Evangelical Free
Church. Classes will be held at Restoration Fellowship, 264 Village
Drive, in the Berean Room and will being at 9 a.m. each meeting
day.

The workbook costs $14.50, and you can
register to attend by calling the church office at Restoration
Fellowship, 731-2937, Ext. 21, by Nov. 14.

Thankfulness as a meditative
state of mind

By John Graves

Special to The PREVIEW

On Sunday, Nov. 12, the Pagosah Unitarian
Universalist Fellowship Meditation service will explore our
understanding of gratitude, and consider how we might embrace the
notion of thankfulness as a meditative state of mind.

Leader April Merrilee said "This service
will introduce the work of Pema Chodron, an American Buddhist nun and
renowned meditation master. We will begin with a section on gratitude
from her book, 'Start Where You Are,' which teaches the meaning of
the Buddhist slogan, 'Be grateful to everyone.' Following a period of
silent meditation, we will share our own experiences of gratitude (or
the need for more)."

The service begins at 10:30 a.m. in the UU
Fellowship Hall, Unit 15, Greenbriar Plaza. Turn east on Greenbrier
Drive off of North Pagosa by the fire station, then left into the
back parking lot and look for the big sign. All are welcome.

This will be a rare opportunity to hear an
extraordinary jazz vocalist, Teresa Ross, in concert with The Actual
Proof Quartet, an exciting jazz ensemble.

Local celebrity John Graves will emcee. Lee
Bartley (pianist for Actual Proof) performed with Graves in the great
ensemble, Rio Jazz. Graves has another interesting connection to this
event: he introduced ECA to Teresa Ross via her stunning CD, "Better
Than Anything."

Graves said, "From an artistic standpoint, I
think Teresa Ross has everything that any of the great jazz singers
of the past have had, along with something new that she's adding."
Graves, who has been a professional jazz pianist since 1941, added,
"She has an innate sense of showmanship and a style which is exciting
and distinctive. She freely expresses herself with humor, emotion and
surprise. It makes for a very exciting evening. And when four
outstanding musicians back her, it's a combination rarely found these
days and one not to be missed if you have a chance."

Proof members are widely regarded as among
the finest musicians in the Four Corners. Bartley's innovative
arrangements and jazz solos have graced a long career as pianist,
composer, arranger and recording artist. He is also a master piano
technician. Bartley took good care of everyone's piano in Pagosa when
he lived here.

The flugelhorn is an intriguing element to
the mix. The original German spelling of flügelhorn means "wing
horn." Miles Davis was a pioneer in the use of the flugelhorn in
jazz. It's a type of trumpet that favors the lower notes, so it has a
warmer, mellower tone than the trumpet. With Newnam, we get the best
of trumpet, flugelhorn and musical artistry. He also raises llamas on
his ranch in Mancos.

"Bassist Bob Cordalis has played with just
about every kind of musical group in the area," said Graves, "blues,
rock, jazz and he was even principal bassist for the San Juan
Symphony. His powerful driving beat and inventive solos reflect his
versatile background."

Graves also had high praise for
percussionist Brad Tarpley: "He can play with subtlety and nuance, or
with wild abandon; whatever the style and the arrangement
requires.

"I think Teresa Ross could be a great star,"
Graves remarked as he pondered the many great vocalists in his
experience. Graves has always had a vast fondness for great jazz
vocalists. The ones he didn't perform with, he made sure he got a
chance to see in performance.

"What makes a person great is their style,"
explained Graves. "The style is what their personal, inner self
brings to the music. You get so much of the artist's soul in the way
they interpret the music."

When asked what to expect from when this
jazz comes to Pagosa, Grave responded: "it's going to be an evening
of really rare experience."

Advance tickets, for $12, are available
through elationarts.org and at WolfTracks Coffee House. Tickets at
the door are $15 for adults and $5 for young people, 18 and under.

Desserts and coffee will be provided at
intermission. Please bring a dessert to share if you wish.

Pagosa Lakes Clubhouse is located at 230
Port Ave. in Pagosa Lakes. Take U.S. 160 to Vista Boulevard, turn
north on Vista and left on Port.

Elation Center for the Arts serves the
people of the Southwest and beyond by cultivating an appreciation for
the arts. ECA offers life enrichment programs focused on preserving
our cultural heritage. These programs include community concerts;
music assemblies and performance residencies for schools; performance
opportunities for accomplished and aspiring artists; and classes in
the arts for students of all ages and backgrounds. Proceeds from this
concert will help support these programs. For more information, log
on to elationarts.org or call 731-3117.

Let's play chess, at the ed
center

By Renee Haywood

Special to The PREVIEW

Want to learn how to play chess? Want to
learn how to play better?

The Archuleta County Education Center is
offering a chess club for students in grades five through
eight.

Chess is a game of strategy and tactics.
Each player commands an army of 16 chessmen - pawns and other pieces
(the king, queen, bishops, knights and rooks).

Whether you're a beginner or an expert, Gary
Hannemann, our tournament coach, will teach you strategies that will
stump your opponent. Chess is a game that knows few boundaries; from
the time the game begins, you should remember that every move you
make may affect your chances in the endgame.

Concentrate on your immediate plans, as well
as your opponent's - but always keep the endgame in mind!

The chess club will meet beginning Friday,
Nov. 10, from 1:30-4 p.m. in the junior high school library, and will
continue to Dec. 15. Prizes will be awarded to the winners.

For more information or to register, contact
the Archuleta County Education Center at 264-2835.

Community center sponsors
Festival of Trees

By Mercy Korsgren

Special to The PREVIEW

A new tradition is about to begin: The
Festival of Trees.

We invite artists, those with great talents
in decorating, sponsors and organizations to participate. Let's fill
the multi-purpose room with decorated holiday trees and make this
event an annual holiday tradition.

In a nutshell: decorated holiday trees will
be on display for a couple of days in the multi-purpose room for
public viewing. Then, the trees will be auctioned on the last night
of the display and the proceeds will go to the non-profit
organization designated by the sponsor.

We need the following volunteers:

- Artists, to decorate trees.

- Sponsors, to provide trees and/or
decorations.

This is how the program works:

- The artist and/or sponsor will provide the
tree, the decorations and decorate the tree. The non-profit
organization that will receive the money from the auction would be
encouraged to participate.

- Sign up at the community center by
Wednesday, Nov. 29. Purchase your tree (6- to 8-feet tall only) and
decorate it at the center. Real trees are preferred, but not
mandatory. Decoration of trees will take place Monday and Tuesday,
Dec. 4 and 5, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

- Trees will be on display from Wednesday,
Dec. 6, to Friday, Dec. 8, and will be auctioned off the evening of
Dec. 8. Details will be available at sign-up.

Anyone interested in participating in the
directory are encouraged to attend this meeting. Deadline for
submission of an entry in the directory is Dec. 10. The directory
will be published Jan. 15.

The Pagosa Health & Wellness Directory
will organize the health and wellness community into an easy
reference 4x9 format similar in size to a rack card, so it can be
placed in advertising racks and at the Chamber of Commerce. The
directory will list practitioners as well as health and wellness
businesses outlines of healing modalities and services.

Pagosa Health & Wellness Practitioners
is a network of individuals dedicated to providing education and
direct services regarding greater health and well being in mind, body
and soul to the community at large, supporting Pagosa Springs as a
healing oasis.

The Nov. 13 meeting will take place at 244
Brookhill Drive. Turn onto Pike Drive at Big O Tires, turn right at
Rainbow and turn right at Brookhill.

If you have questions, call Arthur at
264-3354 for further directions or call Sophia for information about
Pagosa Health & Wellness Practitioners.

Humane Society of Pagosa
Springs joins adoption drive

The holiday season is a time to spend at
home with your family. The Iams Home 4 the Holidays program is hoping
more than 350,000 families welcome furry friends in Pagosa Springs
and around the globe during this year's annual adoption drive.

Entering its eighth season, the Iams Home 4
the Holidays international pet adoption drive has placed more than 1
million lucky animals with loving families.

This past December, the one millionth pet
was adopted - a cat in Milton, Fla.

Helen Woodward Animal Center started the
Home 4 the Holidays adoption drive back in 1999 with 14 animal
shelters in San Diego County. Since that time, it has grown to
include shelters and rescue groups from around the globe with 1,941
shelters participating last year.

This year, the Humane Society of Pagosa
Springs and Helen Woodward Animal Center will team with more than
2,000 animal shelters; Academy Award winner Diane Keaton; Kristen
Bell, star of the hit TV show, "Veronica Mars"; and Iams to encourage
prospective pet parents to take a shelter pet home for the holidays.
This year's adoption drive takes place from Nov. 6, 2006 through Jan.
2, 2007, at the Humane Society of Pagosa Springs.

"I'm honored to be a part of such an
enormous lifesaving effort," said Bell. "I applaud all the shelter
and rescue groups who have made this program the success that it is.
I encourage everyone to consider pet adoption, as I hope it will
enhance your life as much as it has mine." During her childhood, the
actress took care of a steady stream of foster pets, providing a
temporary home so they wouldn't have to spend long stretches of time
in kennels. Bell is an adoptive pet parent herself to three dogs,
including a black Labrador who survived Hurricane Katrina.

Thanks to its record of success, Helen
Woodward Animal Center and Iams were recognized this past year with
the Gold Halo Award for Best Environmental/Wildlife Campaign from the
Cause Marketing Forum. The Gold Halo Award recognizes programs that
provide resources for nonprofit partners, move consumers to act out
of a desire to do good and enrich lives. The Iams Home 4 the Holidays
program delivers all of these by providing resources for
participating shelters, asking consumers to consider pet adoption and
finding homes for more than a million orphaned pets.

"As a partner in the Iams Home 4 the
Holidays campaign, we are proud to play a part in finding lifelong
homes for so many deserving pets," says Amy Newkirk, Iams external
relations. "The human-pet bond is enhanced by taking the time to
consider which animal best suits your wants and needs, and then
provide them with loving environment with appropriate training, a
proper diet and exercise."

During this year's adoption drive, each new
adopting family will receive an Iams adoption kit containing food
samples, coupons and important tips on pet care, behavior, training
and nutrition.

"This program improves the lives of orphaned
pets and may provide your family with its most loyal member. There
are millions of dogs and cats of every size, shape, color and age
ready to become part of your family," says Mike Arms, president of
Helen Woodward Animal Center and founder of Iams Home 4 the
Holidays.

Prospective pet parents can learn more about
the Iams Home 4 the Holidays adoption drive by contacting the Humane
Society of Pagosa Springs or by calling (800) 421-6456 or visiting
www.home4theholidays.com or www.iamsfriendsforlife.com.

Harvest Fest goodwill
project

By Nancy Burke

Special to The PREVIEW

Harvest Fest at Restoration Fellowship was
all about the children.

About 30 kids (kindergarten through high
school) came the evening of Oct. 31 for an Operation Christmas Child
party that was partly for them and partly for kids they probably will
never meet.

Operation Christmas Child is an
international project of Samaritan's Purse that delivers gift-filled
shoe boxes to children around the world. Last year 7.6 million boxes
were collected and distributed worldwide.

Pagosa kids packed about 100 Operation
Christmas Child boxes with stuffed animals, toys, toothbrushes and
toothpaste, washcloths, soap, and hard candies. Each child included a
handwritten note and a photo to the child who would receive the box.
All these items had been purchased from earlier donations at the
church for Operation Christmas Child. After the boxes were assembled,
kids enjoyed a pizza party and entertainment by Calamity the Clown.

If you'd like to be involved with Operation
Christmas Child this year, call Nancy Burke at 731-5901. Collection
Week begins Nov. 13, and the hours are as follows: Nov. 13 10 a.m. to
1 p.m.; Nov. 14-18, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Nov. 19, noon to-4 p.m. Take
boxes to the Relay Center at Pagosa Bible Church, just east of North
Pagosa Boulevard on Park Avenue.

Volunteer help sought for
Daffodil Days

The American Cancer Society is seeking
volunteers to help sell daffodils, the flower of hope, for its spring
fund-raiser, Daffodil Days.

Volunteers may be individuals, employees
who'd like to sell at their place of employment or members of
churches and civic organizations.

Through the daffodil, the first flower of
spring, this campaign brings a symbol of hope to cancer patients and
those affected by the disease that there is a brighter future
tomorrow.

Purchasing daffodils for friends, customers
and employees can brighten their days, desks or dinner tables, and
the proceeds help fund the American Cancer Society's mission to
eliminate cancer as a major health problem through research,
education, advocacy and patient service programs.

For more information on Daffodil Days 2007,
call (970) 247-0278.

For information on cancer, cancer research,
advocacy, prevention and detection, as well as patient programs, call
1-800-ACS -2345 or visit www.cancer.org.

Chuck Bob at the
Movies

Summer blockbusters out on DVD

Charles Streetman

PREVIEW Columnist

With the holidays just a stone's throw away,
Hollywood studios are finally releasing their summer blockbusters on
DVD.

My two selections this week didn't do well
at the box office but, surprisingly, they are still worthwhile titles
to see. The first is "Monster House," a fresh and clever animated
adventure, and the second is "Mission: Impossible III," the
frenetically-paced, action-packed third installment in a celebrated
espionage movie series.

Halloween may have come and gone, but that
hasn't stopped me from taking a look at the critically acclaimed, new
animated film, "Monster House."

In every suburban neighborhood there is that
one legendary old house that every kid on the block believes is
haunted. For young D.J. (Mitchell Musso), living directly across the
street from such a house can prove a tad disconcerting. Actually, he
is fascinated by the house and its equally creepy and suspicious
proprietor, old man Nebbercracker (Steve Buscemi). Watching intently
from his bedroom window, the boy observes Nebbercracker scaring away
any child who sets foot upon his lawn.

With his parents gone and an irresponsible
sitter making his life a living hell, D.J. can only rely on his best
friend, Chowder (Sam Lerner), to investigate the matter, and even the
friend is skeptical. Things get even eerier when D.J. sets out to
prove his theory to his buddy and a confrontation with Nebbercracker
appears to kill the old man, leaving his house unattended. Smoke
continues to bellow from the old house's chimney, and yet nobody is
home. Toys and people who wander onto the property mysteriously
disappear.

The boys find that things are worse than
they assumed when they learn that the house is not haunted; it's a
living, menacing monster that will devour anything that's in the
front yard! Quick thinking and a heroic effort saves a young student,
named Jenny (Spencer Locke), who is trying to sell cookies door to
door. The three kids stake out the house and gather intelligence to
prepare them for whatever may happen next. To make matters even more
urgent, it's Halloween, and hundreds of trick-or-treaters are on the
prowl for treats throughout the neighborhood. D.J., Chowder and their
newly-found friend, Jenny, must act fast to prevent the house from
going on a feeding frenzy!

Compared to the other animated films of this
year, "Monster House" is the most creative and original that I have
seen so far. It breaks away from the repetition of unrealistic
talking animals and cars voiced by an all-star cast, by focusing on
actual human characters voiced by actors who fit the roles - who are
fun, funny and honest.

The animation looks great. While consisting
of the same motion-capture animation used in past computer animated
films like "The Polar Express," "Monster House" doesn't shoot for an
extreme detail of realism (which mostly ends up looking creepy) with
its characters. The design remains cartoonish, but still maintains
top-quality detail.

"Monster House" offers more than many of
this year's animated films. It presents a fresh and original story
with clever and funny characters and provides a variety of
entertainment. However the film may be too intense for younger
children, say between the ages of 5 and 9.

The DVD sports a good haul of special
features, including director commentary, seven featurettes, a photo
gallery and a scene dissection. The DVD-ROM features online links to
several game downloads and other activities.

In "Mission: Impossible III" you can see Tom
Cruise ("War of the Worlds") run, jump, shoot bad guys, and make that
creepy bug-eyed face I hate so much, whenever he tries too hard to
cry. But one thing you won't see him do in this movie is win viewers
back after his recent media-exploited eccentricities.

To the movie now ... as in previous
installments, Cruise maintains his role as IMF agent Ethan Hunt. In
the film, Cruise is engaged to his fiancé (Michelle Monaghan,
"Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang"), who is oblivious to his life as a secret
agent. Retired from active duty, Hunt now finds himself training
future IMF agents. But, when his top protégé is taken
hostage in Berlin, Hunt doesn't hesitate to assemble a crack team of
agents to rescue her. The effort is in vain when the rescued agent is
killed during the escape.

Still suffering the loss, Hunt and his team
are assigned to go undercover and apprehend the arms dealer the
deceased agent was surveying, Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman,
"Capote"), and prevent him from selling a bio weapon called the
"Rabbit's Foot" to highest, third world bidder. This is as much of
the general plot I can provide without giving away any major
spoilers.

While the general plot only makes up about a
quarter of the movie, it has more than enough twists and double
crosses to keep it fresh, while the bulk of the movie provides the
intense, highly-entertaining action and espionage.

While Cruise continues to grunt and smirk
his way through the film, deluded into thinking he's actually acting,
Hoffman steals the show as the villain Davian. Davian is not a wily,
somewhat likeable villain; he's a total sadist, and Hoffman
skillfully brings the character to life, further proving his talents
as an actor.

"Mission: Impossible III" is pure
entertainment. Whether you go for the twisted plot, or the insane
action sequences, you'll get your money's worth one way or another.
And while the movie eventually turns into yet another sales ad for
Tom Cruise, if you can look past that you'll be surprised and
satisfied with this thrilling third installment.

Surprisingly, the single disc DVD has a
decent collection of features including commentaries from Cruise and
Abrams, some deleted scenes and a "making of" featurette. The two
disc collector's edition has all this and much more including several
featurettes on various aspects of making the film, photo galleries,
and much more.

Community Center News

Community party a huge success

By Becky Herman

PREVIEW Columnist

There were least 1,340 people in the
community center for our annual Halloween party!

It was a smashing success - there were
creepy, romantic, scary, furry, clever and creative costumes
everywhere. Stephanie and Richard Castillo's son Ayden was dressed as
a fuzzy chicken and so cute that he won the prize for the funniest
costume. Ethan and Jonathon Robel, sons of Dawn and Jeff Robel, took
the award for the first-place overall; they were dressed as Thomas
the Tank Engine and James the Red Engine. Second place overall went
to Jasmine and Giselle Moncada, daughters of Rosa and Manuel Moncada;
they were dressed as Raggedy Ann dolls. Jim Duncan won third place
overall; Jim was a wonderful ghoulish creature. The most creative
costume award went to Joseph Buzby, dressed as a pumpkin baby, all
wrapped up and connected to his Mom, Jennifer Buzby, with pumpkin
vines.

The Halloween party is truly a community
effort; we couldn't begin to put it together without your help.
Thanks from all of us at the center.

Scrapbook Club

The Scrapbook Club will meet from 10 a.m. to
3 p.m. this Saturday, Nov. 11, Give yourself the opportunity to work
on those scrapbook pages you keep putting off, or maybe you want to
get a jump on your holiday cards. Several of the members have some
really good ideas, so stop by and check it out.

Call Melissa Bailey at 731-1574 or the
center at 264-4152.

Healthy cooking for Latinos

Laurie Echavarria of San Juan Basin Health
was here last week with some healthy cooking tips for Latinos. The
attendees viewed a tape and cooked two recipes. The main dish was
pupusas stuffed with vegetables. The side was a cabbage salad called
Curtido Salvadoreño. Both were delicious - and good for you,
too!

Laurie will offer other sessions like this
one, all of them will feature healthy and delicious recipes,
alternatives to traditional Latino recipes.

Call SJBH at 264-2673 for information about
this program, and watch here for details about the next class.

By the way, recipes for the pupusas and the
cabbage salad are available at the community center reception
desk.

Festival of Trees

The time is right for some creative
thinking. Put your special Christmas tree ideas together and call the
center to be a part of anew holiday tradition.

We invite all of Pagosa's creative talents
to participate. Let's fill the multi-purpose room with decorated
holiday trees.

This is how the process works: First, sign
up at the center if you wish to participate, then purchase a 6- to
8-foot-tall tree and decorate it here at the center.

Decoration of the trees will take place
Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 4 and 5. The trees will be on display for
public viewing Dec. 6-8. On the final evening, the trees will be
auctioned off and the money will go to a non-profit organization of
the artist/sponsor's choice. More details to follow.

Call Mercy at 264-4152, Ext. 22, to share
your ideas. She will appreciate any help or suggestions. It is up to
you to make this event another annual tradition in our beautiful
Pagosa.

Choosing a digital camera

Thinking about buying a digital
camera?

Perhaps you're thinking about purchasing one
for the holidays.

There's a lot to think about. Demystify the
selection process by knowing what to look for. This seminar, led by
Bruce Andersen, presents the various key ingredients in selecting a
digital camera: image quality and file size, camera features, storage
media, battery options and more. This will be a one-hour
presentation.

Andersen has conducted other Photoshop
classes at the center, and more will be offered in 2007. We are
pleased to welcome him to our wonderful group of volunteer teachers
and presenters.

This workshop will take place 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Monday, Nov. 20, in the south conference room. This is a community
center-sponsored program and free to anyone who wishes to attend;
donations to the center, however, are always welcome.

Community potluck, free
concert

In the midst of your holiday planning, enjoy
an evening of original music from The Flying Elmos. Sit and share a
potluck with friends, family and newcomers. It promises to be a
bright spot of sunshine in the middle of your hectic holiday
season.

Mark your calendars now for Dec. 15. Bring
your favorite holiday dish to share; main dishes, sides and desserts
will be most welcome. We'll have dinner at 6 p.m., and the free
concert will start at 6:30 p.m. Doors will open at 5:30, so we can
put the food out on the tables. The center will provide the paper
products and hot and cold beverages.

There is no charge for this holiday
get-together; however, call to let us know you plan to attend. That
way, we'll be sure to have seating for everyone.

Yoga class

Without resilience, none of us would survive
the accumulated losses and transitions that thread their way through
our lives. Resilience is the combination of attentiveness, insight,
and choice that allows you to tune into your own hidden resources.
Build your resilience now by attending the Center's yoga
class.

Thanks to Addi Greer who has agreed to lead
the class while Diana Baird takes some time off from teaching. The
yoga class is held at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday mornings and lasts for an
hour. Bring a yoga mat and dress in comfortable clothing. Call the
Center at 264-4152 for more information.

Line dancing

Line dancing will continue through November,
then take a break for Christmas and resume in January. Gerry
Potticary hopes you will join in for fun and exercise. No experience
is necessary.

The beginning dance group meets at 9 before
line dancing; this is a very basic class. The object here is to
encourage men just to get up and move around the dance floor using
some very simple steps of the two-step and waltz. No skill is
necessary; the men simply have to be able to walk. It makes their
wives happy!

Call Gerry for a free private introduction
if interested.

Line dancing rocks on at 10 for beginners,
and at 10:30 there is dancing for those who are more advanced. Call
the Center at 264-4152 for more information.

Managing Diabetes

The next diabetes group meeting will be at
5:30 p.m. Nov. 16. The discussion topic will be tips for coping with
the holidays. Plan to come and bring some of your own ideas to share,
especially how you have successfully navigated through difficult
holiday situations. This group is designed for diagnosed diabetics,
those at risk for diabetes, and also for those who care for or live
with diabetics. Call the center at 264-4152 to let us know what types
of programs could help you.

eBay Club

I sat in on the last eBay Club meeting
during which Ben Bailey and several newcomers looked at ebay.com and
did some research on the value of items they themselves might
eventually want to sell. Knowing what the Beatles White Album or an
old tune like Come Josephine, in my Flying Machine might earn on eBay
helps newbies understand what and how to sell online. Ben is always
ready to answer questions and share what he has learned by selling
items for our local Humane Society.

Join Bailey on the first and third
Wednesdays of each month if you are interested in joining the eBay
Club. The meetings begin at 5:30 p.m. and end at 7:30. Call Ben at
264-0293 or the center at 264-4152 for more information.

Computer lab news

A special thank you to Glen and Shirley Cope
who donated a computer which will, as soon as all the software is
loaded, replace one of the older machines in the computer lab. We are
gradually moving toward one operating system in the lab; what a treat
that will be when it comes to simplifying administrative
tasks.

Need a place to have a party or meeting? We
have very affordable rooms for small, mid-size and large groups. A
catering kitchen is also available. Tables, chairs, a portable stage,
a dance floor and audiovisual equipment are available, too. The
center is located at 451 Hot Springs Blvd. Call 264-4152.

Senior News

Medicare D reminder for seniors

By Jeni Wiskofske

SUN Columnist

Are you just about to celebrate your 65th birthday and wonder what
your options are?

Are you having trouble with a bill?

Call The Den at 264-2167 for an appointment and help will be on
the way. Remember, that the Medicare counselors here at The Den are
not only available to help you with your drug plan options, but they
are also available to help you with your questions about Medicare in
general.

Please take caution when you receive a call from an agent with
your current plan: sales people sometimes use high pressure to
encourage you to change your plan to what they say is something with
better benefits.

Use extreme caution, ask questions, never make a decision on the
spot, talk to someone you trust and know that our counselors are
happy to answer your questions. We have received phone calls from
folks that have changed their plans and were told they could simply
change back if they were not happy. This couldn't be further from the
truth.

Fortunately, we are looking at open enrollment beginning Nov. 15,
which will give you the opportunity to possibly change back,
depending on the circumstances. Remember, buyer beware!

What Is diabetes?

Diabetes is a condition in which the body has trouble making
insulin. Insulin is a hormone that controls the amount of sugar in
our blood. When a person has diabetes, the body makes no insulin, too
little insulin, or insulin that does not work right. This result is
high blood sugar. Over time, high blood sugar can lead to vision loss
or even blindness. It can also harm your kidneys, blood vessels, and
nerves. People with diabetes have a higher chance of developing high
blood pressure, which can lead to heart disease. The following are
risk factors for diabetes:

Heredity: If one of your parents, grandparents, or siblings had
diabetes, you are more likely to have the disease.

Race: If you are Hispanic, African American, American Indian, or
Asian American, you have a higher risk of developing diabetes.

Gestational Diabetes: If you had diabetes while you were pregnant
or gave birth to a baby weighing nine pounds or more, you have a
greater risk of developing the disease later in life.

Millions of Americans have diabetes, and half of them don't even
know it!

People with diabetes may have different symptoms. They may
experience all, some, or none of the following: A need to urinate
often (even at night); constant thirst or hunger; weight loss that
cannot be explained; dry or itchy skin; and skin infections.

For more information, go to www.diabetes.org or call
1-800-342-2383.

Closed for the holiday

The Silver Foxes Den Senior Center will be closed tomorrow, Nov.
10, for Veterans Day. Have a great weekend and we look forward to
seeing you all at lunch next Monday

Allie, the therapy dog

Allie is a West Highland white terrier and is a registered therapy
dog.

Visit with Allie and her owner, Kathryn Steen, at The Den Monday,
Nov. 13, beginning at 11 a.m. Therapy dogs bring sparkle to a day,
provide a lively subject for conversation and rekindle memories of
previously owned pets.

Dance for Your Health

Dance for Your Health classes are available at The Den at 10 a.m.
Wednesdays. Karma Raley, the dance instructor, enjoys sharing her
love of dance and blends basic ballet, modern jazz and jazz dance
with yoga awareness to create a full-body routine which makes it
possible to work out to the degree you want and/or need to. Wear
loose comfortable clothing and bring a mat or towel. Join us at The
Den and learn great dance techniques while having a fun time
exercising.

Aikido classes

Aikido is a relatively modern martial art, although its roots go
back nearly a thousand years to secret techniques of samurai
warriors.

Aikido students learn how to redirect an attacker's energy with
hand techniques, and train with the wooden sword and short staff.
Aikido is beneficial for health, coordination, stress relief and
character with the goal of bettering oneself rather than trying to be
better than an opponent. Sign up with The Den if you would like to
participate in November classes.

Visually impaired persons support group

The monthly meeting for folks with low vision, and their
supporters, will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 15. Susan Kimbler from
the Southwest Center for Independence leads this informative support
group. Call 259-1672 for more information. Kimbler will also be
available in Arboles Thursday, Nov. 16, providing a table of
information on the VIPS group. Learn what they do, and how they can
help you or someone you love.

Annual flu shots In Arboles

Annual flu shots will be provided by San Juan Basin Health
Department 10 a.m. -noon Thursday, Nov. 16, at the Catholic Church in
Arboles (which is the lunch site for The Den's meals in Arboles.)

The flu shots are for priority groups who are most likely to get
serious complications from the flu which include: elderly, 65 years
or over; residents of long-term care facilities; persons between 2
and 64 years old with underlying chronic medical conditions; people
with diabetes; babies and toddlers between 6 and 23 months; pregnant
women; health care personnel who provide direct patient care; and
household contacts and out-of-home caregivers of children less than 6
months old.

Medicare and Rocky Mountain HMO are accepted and will cover the
cost of the flu shot, but you must bring your card with you.

For all others, the cost for the flu shots is $25 per person,
either cash or check. For more information, call San Juan Basin
Health Department in Pagosa Springs at 264-2409.

Thanksgiving meal in Arboles

Thanksgiving Day is a time to offer thanks, a time of family
gatherings and holiday meals. The Den will celebrate Thanksgiving in
Arboles Thursday, Nov. 16, with a Thanksgiving feast at lunch,
(reservations are required by Tuesday, Nov. 14). So, come one, come
all, and help us be thankful and celebrate the friendship, the
bountiful food, and the pleasure of being a part of our extended
family down in Arboles.

Pajama Day

Friday, Nov. 17, is Pajama Day at The Den, so jump out of bed,
don't change those clothes and come on down to The Den for lunch.
Keep those PJs on so you can win a prize for the most authentic
sleepwear display. Hair rollers, slippers and bath robes look great
and will win prizes for those who participate. Remember, the sleepier
and more comfortable you dress, the better the chance you'll get your
photo in the paper. Pajamas are the style, because here at The Den we
are really wild!

Viola and guitar

Kate Kelly, our very own Ginger Kelly's daughter-in-law, is a
talented musician.

Kate has been playing the viola for more than 20 years and is a
music instructor here in Pagosa. Kate, accompanied by Truett Forest
on guitar, will join us at The Den at 12:45 p.m. Friday, Nov. 17, to
entertain us and share the lovely music of stringed instruments.

Birthday celebrations

If you are age 60 or older and your birthday is in November, come
to The Den Friday, Nov. 17, for lunch and celebrate your birthday.
Seniors Inc. has graciously agreed to pay for a portion of your
birthday meal, so it will cost only $1 for a great lunch and lots of
fun. Remember to let us know it is your birthday when you check in at
the desk.

Fund-Drive for The Den

The Silver Foxes Den Senior Center has experienced consistent
growth over the last couple of years. Our meals and transportation
services, our activities, and the ASI membership have increased
tremendously.

As of September 2006, we had served 7,661 meals, delivered 1,593
meals to those in need, and have provided 3,977 rides this year. And
this does not take into account all of the activities now available
at The Den, like the enjoyable Mystery Trips.

As you can see, we provide great support to you and our community.
Please help us continue our excellent service and continually improve
how we meet the needs in our ever-growing community, by donating your
tax deductible monies to the Silver Foxes Den. (Any amount is greatly
appreciated.) We thank you for your contribution, your support and
your patronage here at The Den.

Meals on Wheels

By Sheila Berger.

The Silver Foxes Den Senior Center Home Delivered Meal program
began several years ago in order to serve at least one well-balanced,
hot, nourishing meal a week to the elderly and disabled population
who are unable to travel from their home (commonly referred to as
"home-bound").

This program is modeled after the Federal Meals on Wheels program,
and is highly successful due to the volunteers who deliver the meals.
There are currently 16 homebound clients being served by this
program, with room for more.

The volunteers, each who sees their clients at least once a week,
play a role that far surpasses that of a mere delivery person. They
have developed important relationships with their clients and their
visits are in many cases the high point for that client's day. They
may chat, catch up on family, share pictures and memories of Pagosa's
past. In some cases, the volunteer may intervene in an emergency
situation.

Such was the case last summer. Two-year volunteer Jarrell Tyson
was making a delivery to one of his clients and as he drove up to the
house, he saw his client lying helpless in the front yard. He had
collapsed and was unable to get up or reach anyone for help. Jarrell
attempted to help him up but his client's legs would not cooperate,
so Jarrell called 911. The client was taken to Durango where he was
placed on new medication. The following week when Jarrell came by, he
was back home, looking great and said he was feeling better than he
had in a very long time.

If you are interested in making a difference in someone's life and
in our community, please call The Den at 264-2167 and volunteer to
deliver meals. Just one hour of your time a week can bring a smile to
someone's face, provide friendship and company, and mean the world to
someone who needs a little support. Please volunteer now and help our
seniors who are homebound.

From Archuleta County, a huge thank you to our caring and
dedicated volunteers.

More thanks

I want to thank everyone who helped with the November newsletter
mailing. Special thanks to Jackie Schick, Mae Boughan, Ruth Bankhead,
Dody Smith, Marcia Fergusen, Marilyn McPeek and Marge Sanders for all
the folding, stapling and labeling. I don't know what I would do
without all of your help. I really appreciate it.

The Silver Foxes Den Senior Center would like to thank Bonnie Nyre
from Slices of Nature for her endless generous contributions. Most of
our prizes for our contests and parties are donated by Slices of
Nature. At our recent Halloween costume party, we awarded 13 great
prizes, all thanks to Bonnie and Slices of Nature. So thank you from
all of us here at The Den for adding something special to our events.

Calling all bridge players

Bridge-4-Fun and duplicate bridge players are welcome at The Den
Mondays and Fridays beginning at 12:30 p.m. Come on down to The Den
to meet great people, play some cards and have some fun.

1,000 members

Congratulations Archuleta Seniors Inc. Jane Krawitz was the
1,000th member to sign up for a membership with ASI. This is the most
members in the history of Archuleta Seniors Inc. A big thanks to the
ASI Membership chair, Lorrie Church, and the rest of the ASI board
members for working so hard to meet this long-term goal.

Scott White's Pagosa Springs Junior High
School eighth-grade class will host its annual breakfast for veterans
from 7:30 to 10:30 a.m. tomorrow, Nov. 10, at the community center on
Hot Springs Boulevard.

The breakfast is a school function and will
be held during the school day Friday instead of Saturday. All
veterans are invited to attend this breakfast as the eighth-grade
class pays tribute to all of our local veterans.

There is no charge for the breakfast. This
has become an annual event by the eighth-graders as part of their
history studies. These youngsters will honor veterans, interview them
and serve them breakfast. If you see an extra big grin on my face
while I attend the breakfast it will be because my daughter, Andrea,
will be participating this year as an eighth-grade student.

All veterans are encouraged to attend the
breakfast and support the good work and effort of these students as
they honor veterans. I plan to attend and wear my Navy blues "Cracker
Jack" uniform. I challenge as many veterans as possible to show up in
their uniforms too.

Active duty military

Current active duty military personnel that
might be home on leave, or families of active duty personnel, are
especially invited to all the Veteran's Day activities. We want to
salute you.

American Legion

Plans are also underway for a Veteran's Day
program to be held at the Legion building Saturday, Nov. 11. An 11
a.m. flag-raising ceremony will be held, accompanied by uniformed
honor guard salute. Following the flag ceremony there will be an
official flag disposal ceremony. The annual Rueben Marquez Patriotic
Essay contest winners will be announced at this time by Marquez
family members. The colors will be lowered at 5:30 p.m.

A potluck supper will be held at the Legion
Hall at 1 p.m. The Legion Auxiliary Unit will assist with food
preparation. All who attend are asked to bring a main, side or
dessert dish to share with all. I can attest personally that these
Auxiliary ladies really know how to put on a great potluck dinner. I
plan to be there and I hope you do too.

Public invited

All veterans and family and friends are
invited to all of these Legion activities, regardless of membership.

This is about a public salute to all
veterans, not about Legion membership. Of course, I'm sure with some
arm-twisting the American Legion will gladly accept membership
enrollment to qualified veterans. These folks do a great community
service organizing holiday veteran salutes, parades, maintenance of
veteran graves at our local cemetery, and working very closely with
me to obtain grant money to assist our veterans with VA Health Care
transportation.

There is no charge for any Veteran's Day
event. Please come and salute and support our veterans and active
duty personnel who may be in attendance while our nation is at war,
maintaining our security. All current and former military personnel
are asked to wear their uniforms to all events.

11th hour

If the 11th hour of the 11th day, of the
11th month sounds familiar, it is the time and date the WWI Armistice
was signed, ending that terrible conflict in the early 20th century.
Veteran's Day was originally called Armistice Day, but was changed by
act of Congress to Veteran's Day, to honor all veterans of all
wars.

Fuel money

Don't forget to stop by my office for
reimbursement of your fuel and overnight accommodation receipts to VA
health care appointments. We are currently reimbursing 100 percent of
your VA Health Care travel expenses. Also, help a fellow veteran who
may be going in the same direction to the same VA facility and give
me a call if you can provide, or if you need, transportation. I will
keep a calendar of who is going where to coordinate this important
program.

Durango VA Clinic

The Durango VA Outpatient Clinic is located
at 400 South Camino Del Rio, Suite G, (next to Big 5 Sports). Phone
number is 247-2214. Albuquerque VAMC phone number is
1-800-465-8262.

Further information

For information on these and other veterans'
benefits, call or stop by the Archuleta County Veterans Service
Office located at 46 Eaton Drive, Suite 7 (behind City Market). The
office number is 731-3837, the fax number is 731-3879, cell number is
946-6648, and e-mail is afautheree@archuletacounty.org.

Library News

Library offers more than 80
magazines and newspapers

By Carole Howard

PREVIEW Columnist, and the library
staff

One of the lesser known benefits of your
free library card is access to more than 80 different magazines on a
wide variety of subjects, plus selected local and national
newspapers. All are located in a comfortable reading area to the left
of the front door at the south end of the building. Here is just a
sample of the wealth of topics and titles available at the
library:

Then there are Spanish-language magazines
like Latina and Selectiones (Spanish-language Reader's Digest). There
are lots of cooking magazines including Bon Appetit, Cooking Light,
Food and Wine, Gourmet and Taste of Home. There are several current
events magazines like The Economist, Time, Newsweek and The Week.
There are magazines relating to outdoor activities like Audubon,
Colorado Outdoors, Field & Stream plus Horse and Rider. And there
are all sorts of other special interest magazines including Air &
Space, American Heritage, Atlantic, Consumer Reports, Discover,
Mother Jones, National Geographic, People, Smithsonian, Sports
Illustrated and Wine Spectator.

Newspapers available are The Pagosa Springs
SUN, Durango Herald, Denver Post, New York Times and Wall Street
Journal.

Current issues of magazines and newspapers
must be read in the library. Previous issues can be checked out for
three weeks, the same timeframe as a book. We hope you'll come in and
take advantage of these and other subscriptions too numerous to list
to keep up to date on topics that interest you.

Lifelong learning

Mark your calendars for Dr. Chuck Carson's
light and informative look at gadgets and systems on Nov. 18. All
Lifelong Learning events are free. They take place at 3 p.m. on
selected Saturdays in the library. This is the last Lifelong Learning
event of 2006, but they have been so popular that organizer Biz
Greene promises a new series in 2007, probably in March and
April.

In Memoriam: Kate Terry and Robert
Wilson

The library has received additional generous
monetary donations in honor of Kate Terry from Joyce Aronson, Lenore
and Gil Bright, Nancy Cole and Will Dunbar, Ron and Cindy Gustafson,
Merilyn Moorhead, William Moran and Eugene and Patsy Zesch. As well,
Lenore and Gil Bright made a contribution in the name of Robert
Wilson, son of long-time library volunteers Margaret and Jim Wilson.

New non-fiction: Politics and
terrorism

A well-known conservative and liberal each
have published controversial books that, given their strong views and
depending on your opinions, may make you nod in agreement or become
angry.

John W. Dean, of Watergate fame, has written
"Conservatives without Conscience" about what he calls a radical
shift in the programs and politics of the Republican Party.

Ann Coulter's "The Church of Liberalism"
examines the ramifications of what she says is liberal hostility to
traditional religion and a cause that has become in effect a religion
itself.

A new edition of "The Power Elite," by C.
Wright Mills, analyzes the key sources of power in the U.S. - the
military, the corporate world and politicians.

"Color Theory Made Easy," by graphic
designer Jim Ames, gives artists clear information and a new theory
of primary colors to aid in paint selection.

"Color Mixing Bible," by artist Ian Sidway,
contains practical advice on choosing a palette of colors. "Color: A
course in mastering the art of mixing colors," by Dr. Betty Edwards
is written for the novice in color as well as more experienced
artists and designers.

"Living Homes," by Suzi Moore McGregor and
Nora Burba Trulsson, is a lavishly illustrated book featuring more
than 20 different houses and the stories and pictures of their owners
and architects.

Fiction: Science-fiction, angels and
crime

New to our shelves is the latest Dune novel,
a vast and fascinating series beloved by science fiction lovers.
"Angel's Rest" is an engrossing first novel by Charles Davis about a
boy living through the horror and mystery of his father's death who
discovers that angels do exist. "Thief of Souls," by Ann Benson,
tells of two crime waves separated by nearly 600 years, both
involving children and both solved by women.

Juvenile fiction

"The End," the last in "A Series of
Unfortunate Events" by Lemony Snicker, concludes the history of the
Baudelaire orphans.

"Lion Boy: The Truth" is book three in this
best-selling trilogy by Zizou Corder.

"Chinese Cinderella and the Secret Dragon
Society" is the latest by best-selling author Adeline Yen Mah.

"The Breadwinner," by Deborah Ellis, tells
of the highly restricted lives of young girls and women in
Afghanistan where the Taliban run most of the country.

Arts Line

Visit the PSAC Members Gift
Shop

By Linda Strathdee

PREVIEW Columnist

The Pagosa Springs Arts Council Members Gift
Shop will be open for the next three weeks at the Town Park gallery,
315 Hermosa St.

All pieces in this show are original,
handcrafted and produced by members of the Pagosa Springs Arts
Council. You will find original artwork, photographs, woodworking,
hand-painted silk articles and more.

Plan to stop by the gallery and get a head
start on your holiday shopping.

Fabric art lecture at Creede

Local artist Jeanine Malaney will present
"Painting with Fabric," a one-hour lecture on her unique technique of
paint and fabric collage. The presentation will be held at the
Baptist Church in Creede at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 14.

Jeanine will introduce a step-by-step
technique, and discuss choice of fabrics, paints and threads. Several
of her fabric paintings will be on display. Jeanine recently
exhibited in Taos, Durango, Ouray and Pagosa, and previously in
Arizona. She is also known for her watercolor artwork and was
selected for the 2006 PSAC Juried Fine Art Show.

You can see originals at her Web site
www.paintingswithfabric.com. Prints of her art will be for sale at
the PSAC Gift Shop this month.

Pagosa Pretenders at library

Pagosa Pretenders Family Theater, a division
of PSAC, offers its "Pretending Books and Stories" program the second
Saturday of each month at the Sisson Library. The goal is to promote
reading and creativity.

"Pretending Books and Stories" is free to
the public and appropriate for all ages.

Photography club

The photography club meets the second
Wednesday of each month during the club year, from September through
May.

Interested photography enthusiasts are
welcome to attend at no charge for the first meeting. Any and all are
invited to join for $20 annual dues.

For more information, contact club president
Larry Walton at 731-2706 or lwalton@fhi.net.

"Nuncrackers"

"Nuncrackers" will be playing at the Pagosa
Springs High School Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 30-Dec. 2, with a 2
p.m. matinee Dec. 2.

Tickets will be available at the Plaid Pony
(731-5262) or at the door. Adult tickets for "Nuncrackers" are $15;
seniors are $12 and students/children 18 and under, are $6.

PSAC workshops

The Pagosa Springs Arts Council sponsors and
manages workshops in the arts and crafts space at the community
center. From the outset, the Arts Council has been a partner and
supporter of the community center.

We started the workshop program in 2002 and
it has grown substantially since that time.

Workshops provide those who want to teach a
skill a chance to do so and, at the same time, give our residents a
place to learn something new - whether it is watercolor, acrylic,
oil, drawing, photography or the like. The space also provides a home
for the photo club, watercolor club and a meeting location for
various other groups.

If you are interested in teaching a workshop
or class, call the gallery in Town Park for a workshop application
form (264-5020) or download the form from our Web site,
www.pagosa-arts.com. If you are a resident and have ideas and
suggestions for a class or workshop we haven't offered, please let us
hear from you.

To date, all of our workshops have been held
during the day. Would evenings work better for you? Would you prefer
a series of classes?

If you would like to see the Arts Council
offer workshops in either of these formats, call PSAC at 264-5020 and
leave your name and number and we'll touch base with you.

Seeking new members

Started in 1988, The Pagosa Springs Arts
Council, a non-profit organization, was conceived and developed to,
in part, promote the awareness of the vast array of local artistic
talent, provide educational and cultural activities in the community,
sponsor exhibits and workshops by local and regional artists, and
encourage and support continued appreciation and preservation of the
aesthetic beauty of Pagosa Springs.

If becoming involved with such a dynamic
organization excites you, we hope you will consider becoming a member
or perhaps even volunteer. If you have questions or would like more
information on joining, call the PSAC office, 264-5020.

PSAC Calendar

All PSAC classes and workshops are held in
the arts and craft space at the community center, unless otherwise
noted. All exhibits are shown at the PSAC Town Park Gallery, unless
otherwise noted. For more information contact PSAC at 264-5020

Through Nov. 22 - PSAC Members Gift
Shop.

Nov. 30 - Dec. 2, Music Boosters production
of "Nuncrackers," high school auditorium.

Artsline is a communication vehicle of the
Pagosa Springs Arts Council, courtesy of The Pagosa Springs Sun. For
inclusion in Artsline, send information to PSAC e-mail
(psac@centurytel.net). In the subject area of your e-mail, please
write "Artsline." Your attachment should be in a Microsoft Word file
document format. Images should be limited to 2 (300dpi, 5x7 inches in
size) and sent as a separate (individual attachments) e-mail. You can
also mail a CD of images.

Food for
Thought

Pirates, cow poop, and
breakfast burritos

By Karl Isberg

I know something is wrong the instant I walk into the lobby.

For one thing, there's the smell of pine oil-based disinfectant.

I thought that stuff had been outlawed by the EPA a decade or so
ago. We used to dump gallons of it in the latrines at Boy Scout camp,
knowing that, while it probably produced wildly-malignant tumors in
lab rats, it was the only substance known to man that would kill
whatever lurked in those dark, unspeakably polluted holes in the
ground.

Then, lurking just beneath the scent of pine oil I detect the
unmistakable odor of garlic. Not just any old garlic, no sirree.
Kimchee garlic.

Despite the fact that I am a kimchee fan (I love stewed kimchee,
with pork) my best instincts tell me to run.

I do not.

Finally, "Bill" strolls out of the office behind the front desk
where "Luanne" labors on my tab for my overnight visit. Bill carries
a mug full of steaming Š heaven knows what Š and, on his shoulder,
rides a huge parrot. The parrot takes one look at the chubby,
gap-toothed fool on the other side of the counter and sets up a
deafening racket.

Dear lord, I am about to stay in a 50-year-old motel run by Korean
pirates.

In Greeley, Colorado - feed lot capital of the universe.

All the signs are present, the omens are obvious, the bad mojo is
here by the truckload.

This is going to be difficult.

I am here for a high school volleyball tournament.

I am a high school volleyball fanatic, and have been for twenty
years. You can have your football, your basketball (merely an indoor
activity for ectomorphs that allows the kids to wear short pants and
scamper around a gym during winter months) - I love volleyball. Right
along with wrestling, it's my favorite school-kid sport.

I have driven more than 300 miles to get to Greeley and to the
America's Best American-Owned Lodging Suite Establishment."

I have a ferocious case of bus butt, and I am in hell.

My room, No. 50, is reached via a flight of rickety metal stairs.
A busy highway runs past the front of the motel (and, in this motel,
everything is at the front) not thirty feet away. To add to the sonic
luster, a train track runs parallel to the other side of the highway.
If you didn't know, trains are required by federal law to sound their
horns as often as possible as they pass through inhabited areas.

My room is sumptuously appointed with a rumpsprung bed with sheets
and covers that appear to have been imported from a hobo jungle, and
with a shag rug - in two different patterns, one pattern on the swath
on one side of the room, the second pattern on a swath next to it,
the two hunks of space-age synthetic fibers separated by a gap of an
inch or so. The carpet harbors an abundance of tiny wildlife. I know
this because the little critters use the gap in the carpet as their
portal to a world rich in dry skin and assorted bodily fluids.

The bathroom?

No need to discuss it.

I am here because this is where our illustrious school district
has seen fit to house our girls' volleyball team.

Only the best for Pagosa's kids.

I sleep fitfully, since the sheets crackle every time I move.
Thank goodness I have a 1975 20-inch Samsung TV to keep me
entertained. No doubt, Bill has a relative in the electronics
business.

The next morning, I adjourn to the dining area and find a seat
next to one of two pool tables in the cigarette smoke-saturated
space. I enjoy a hearty meal with the girls: packets of instant
oatmeal, Little Debbie snack cakes and "fresh fruit" (it appears to
be a banana). The girls stare vacantly at the fare. After all,
they've had to sleep two to a bed and they have three volleyball
matches to play during the day. They no doubt appreciate the
well-designed nourishment.

Only the best, from our school district.

I had originally booked into the "suites" for two nights. However,
I locate my gracious hostess, "Luanne," and attempt to explain to her
that I have received a call from my cardiologist and I must hasten to
a Denver surgical hospital for a transplant. As a result, and
unfortunately, I will be unable to stay a second night. Ms. Kim seems
befuddled but she agrees and I hustle out of the joint before she can
change her mind.

"Good luck with your new heart," she yells.

I wave. Feebly. I don't need to fake it. As I step outside the
motel, I encounter the Greeley air. Some people in northern Colorado
call the smell given off by huge feedlots and slaughter houses "the
smell of money."

I've smelled plenty of money, and this ain't it. This is the smell
of cow poop, plain and simple. And the air is thicker here than in
other, less bovine places. You have to elbow your way through it

I hold my breath and realize I need a better breakfast. Granted,
the girls on the team need a decent breakfast more than I do, but
they are being tended by our local school district.

Only the best for them.

I spot the joint across the street.

And I spot my pal, Butch, scurrying into the cafe.

The Gear Grinder Grill - Open 24 hours - Truckers Welcome."

Ah, my kind of place: promises of grease and gravy and all things
porky good. I impose myself on Butch and proceed to bore him with all
manner of pretentious babbling about volleyball.

It's appropriate. After all, look at me. I mean, who else would
possess intimate knowledge of a sport that relies on height, speed,
finesse?

Butch takes no risks - a pile of hash browns, a couple strips of
overdone bacon, a single egg, over easy. A piece or two of toast.

Me, I see something that piques my interest: "The Grinder
Breakfast Burrito." It is touted as the "Big Daddy of breakfast
burritos - smothered in Colorado's best green chile."

I order it.

I am stupid, and weak.

I get what I deserve.

The waitress needs a dolly to deliver the burrito. It is massive,
looking for all the world like a python that's swallowed a puppy. And
it is covered in this Š stuff.

Part of the "stuff" is some kind of highly-industrial, cheeselike
product. The rest of the "stuff" is an odd, somewhat clear,
brownish-green tinted substance in which particles of gray, green and
red matter are suspended.

It's "Colorado's best green chile!"

It is a cornstarch-bound, sour mess, slopped atop a stale flour
tortilla that is wrapped around teeny chunks of cold, water-pack ham,
greasy, overdone hash browns and a grossly abused material I am sure
the cook refers to as "scrambled egg."

I should have stayed at the motel. With the girls. Gnawing on
three or four stale Little Debbie snack cakes.

I sit in the stands at the high school gymnasium and the breakfast
revisits me periodically throughout a very long day.

At the end of the tournament, I pick up my daughter, Ivy, who is a
coach for the high school team, and we skeedaddle. To Fort Collins.
To stay with our pal Sara and her husband, Jack, at their new house.
We have a nice meal at a downtown Italian joint and turn in.

I lie in my bed and my mind turns to the day just finished. And to
the poor kids on the team who must return to the motel, where a
rip-roaring Mexican wedding party is in full gear in the "convention
center."

Sleep tight, my angels.

Only the best for you.

My thoughts also turn to the disaster that the Grinding Gear Grill
made of a classic breakfast. One of my favorite breakfasts. A
breakfast that, if need be, can be eaten in transit, one hand on the
wheel, the other clutching a soft tube of darned good eats.

The breakfast burrito.

First, it should not be smothered in chile.

That's best saved for other items, in other circumstances.

Second, the tortilla should be fresh, and heated.

Here's how to make a humdinger.

Peel a russet or two; halve them and cook in boiling, salted water
until fork tender. Drain, and dry. Cube.

Over medium high heat, saute a batch of chorizo in a bit of olive
oil (or lard, if you happen to have a hunk occupying space in the
fridge). Under no circumstances should you read the list of
ingredients printed on the package of chorizo! This is one instance
in which governmental regulations are counterproductive - a brake on
the pleasure bus. Avert your eyes. Just open the package, crumble and
saute; do not ask what's in it! Know that the pig gave its all for
the product, respect the sacrifice, and move on.

When the chorizo starts to turn color and brown up a bit, toss in
a bit of minced white onion and continue cooking. When the chorizo is
done and the onion is translucent, toss in a clove or two of chopped
garlic. Cook for a moment more (do not let the garlic brown, or the
whole process is ruined) and remove the mix from the pan to a bowl.

Add a touch more oil (or lard) to the pan and, while it heats,
lightly dust the potato cubes with flour, seasoned with salt, pepper,
a bit of oregano and some red chile powder. Shake off the excess
flour then toss the spud cubes into the hot oil and crisp them up.
Remove and put with the chorizo mixture. If you happen to have a
couple strips of roasted green chile available (and who doesn't?)
toss them in the pan to warm them then put them with the sausage and
potato.

Finally, lower the heat under the pan to medium-low and crack a
couple large eggs into the pan. Cook them sunny side up, keeping the
yolks to about 65 degrees - the ideal yoke temp. Forget everything
you've read about salmonella. We're eating here!

Take a warm flour tortilla and lay it on a flat surface. Put a
major-league portion of potato, chile and sausage down the middle of
the tortilla and top it with the two fried eggs.

Pierce the yolks and lightly mix the runny gold emulsifier into
the melange beneath. Sprinkle on some shredded jack cheese and roll
the tortilla into a tube, tucking in the ends.

Perfecto.

It only gets better if you have the time and inclination to eat it
with a fork, off a plate, in which case you can slather it with salsa
fresca, the salsa full of tomato, chiles, onion, garlic and cilantro.

Next time I make a trip to cow poop land, I think I'll take a
cooler loaded with these beauties, and a bottle of an excellent
southern Rhone red blend.

No doubt, I can find a motel in northern Colorado with a microwave
in the room.

I'll call the administration office at our school district.
They'll know a place.

Extension Viewpoints

Join us for fun on GIS Day

By Bill Nobles

SUN Columnist

Nov. 10 - Extension Office closed.

Nov. 10 - 2:15 p.m., Wolf Creek Wonders Club
meeting.

Nov. 14 - 4 p.m., Junior Stockman Club
meeting (at Extension Office).

Nov. 14 - 6 p.m., Rocky Mountain Riders Club
meeting.

Nov. 15 - 10 a.m., Garden Club
meeting.

Nov. 15 - 4 p.m., GIS Day - Geocaching
Farewell.

GIS Day 2006

One and all are welcome to come and join the
Archuleta County Extension Office for an official GIS Day activity.

We will be sending off our second 4-H Travel
Bug for an official geocaching mission. The mission: travel fast and
far in the 4-H CYFERnet Travel Bug Race. Our 4-H Travel Bug will be
awarded points for every cache that he stops at and is logged in at.

So look out world Š here comes Archie! Join
us at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 15, for refreshments as we celebrate
this momentous occasion in Archie's life as a travel bug. Contact the
office for more information about GIS and 4-H at 264-5931.

Join 4-H today

Archuleta County 4-H is now ready for
2006-2007 enrollment.

4-H is a community of young people, across
America, learning leadership, citizenship, and life skills. Here in
Archuleta County, we are very excited to have such dedicated clubs
and project leaders ,year after year.

A few of the projects being offered this
year are Archery, Ranch Horse, Scrapbooking, Knitting and Quilting,
Vet Science, Foods and Nutrition and Coin Collecting.

If you are interested in learning more about 4-H then drop by the office at 344 U.S. 84 at the fairgrounds or call us at 264-5931. There are programs available for youngsters ages 5-18.

Master Gardener Breeze
Training

The Colorado State University Cooperative
Extension will be offering the Colorado Master Gardener Program in
Pagosa Springs via Breeze Technology, starting Jan. 30.

The Colorado Master Gardener Program is an
11-week training program designed to provide the public with
information about fostering a successful home garden in Colorado.
People interested in participating in the Master Gardener Program
need to contact the Cooperative Extension Office at 264-5931 for an
application. Applications will be taken until Dec. 1.

House plant health

Seventeen elements are essential for plant
growth. Plants use more nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium than
other elements, but growth is limited when a plant lacks any one
element. Other essential elements include calcium, magnesium, iron,
carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, manganese, copper, boron, zinc, molybdenum,
sulfur, chlorine and nickel.

Plants that grow rapidly use these elements
more quickly than slow-growing plants. Potting soils generally lack
nutrients essential for plant growth, but a regular fertilization
program will compensate for this nutrient deficiency. Many strengths
and forms of fertilizer are available including granular, liquid and
slow- or quick-release. For best results, look for fertilizer made
specifically for the particular kinds of houseplants you have. Or,
you can use a general all-purpose, complete fertilizer. Fertilization
rates and frequency of application vary by manufacturer, as well as
season. Always follow label instructions. Using slow-release
fertilizers will help plants remain healthy.

Over-fertilization may be a problem and lead
to excess salt buildup. In addition, excess salts may build up
causing a white crust to appear on the potting soil or the pot. Leach
the potting soil in the container several times with clear water to
help alleviate this problem.

The most important factors for plant growth
are light, temperature and humidity. The environmental conditions of
your house often vary and may require additional lighting and
humidity.

The indoor environment in Colorado can be
harsh for many plants. For example, certain plants native to humid,
tropical rainforests may require special consideration when they
reside in your Colorado home. In contrast, many plants native to
arid, desert conditions may thrive with our low humidity. However,
most plants do not adapt and grow well indoors.

Temperature is important for growing plants
successfully indoors. Although plants tolerate temperatures that are
slightly lower or higher than ideal, it does affect growth and
quality. The temperature preferences of indoor plants are categorized
as cool, intermediate and warm. Cool is 40 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit,
intermediate is 60 to 75 degrees and warm is greater than 75
degrees.

Humidity - the level of moisture in the air
- can affect a plant's need for water. Plants use a process called
transpiration to release water into the atmosphere through tiny
openings in their leaves. High humidity slows this water loss. Plants
grown indoors with low humidity lose more water through
transpiration, so their root systems require more water.

During colder months, heating systems common
in Colorado circulate dry, warm air throughout the house. Likewise,
during the summer, air conditioning systems circulate dry, cool air.
Both of these conditions create an environment that often has less
than 10 percent humidity. This is a drastic reduction from the 70 to
90 percent relative humidity levels found in the native climates of
most tropical plants. In addition, plants located near heating or
cooling vents may develop leaf spots or brown tips.

Misting plants may help alleviate this
condition, however, it must be done frequently to be effective, and
it may promote some foliar diseases. A better solution is to place
several plants together on a tray filled with gravel. Filling the
tray with water provides the humidity many plants need. But make sure
the bottom of the container does not stand in water, because the soil
will become waterlogged and cause root damage. Using other
humidification devices or hosing down the floor around your plants
may also help.

Pagosa Lakes News

Come see, use resurfaced pools
at rec center

By Ming Steen

SUN Columnist

This is an invitation to property owners in
Pagosa Lakes to come by the recreation center to see the newly
resurfaced pools. We - members and staff - are pleased with how well
the project turned out. We hope to get many years of enjoyment out of
this new fiberglass pool surface system.

I would like to thank our members for their
patience through the duration of the project. You were understanding
of the harsh odors and on the very last day, you put up with yet
another interruption when the main water line to the building
broke.

A large number of the lap swimmers had
expressed their pleasure with this past week's cooler water
temperature of 79-80 degrees. Although that is a very comfortable
water temperature for lap swimming, it is a tad too cool for water
exercises and for young children and the elderly with smaller body
mass.

As a multi-use pool, a range of water
temperature between 83-85 degrees seems to work best for a majority
of users. Here's a bit of trivia: it takes eight full days to bring
80,000 gallons of cold tap water up to 84 degrees.

Another PLPOA project, the rebuilding of the
parking lot at the association administration building, is two-thirds
completed at the time of writing this column. Here again, many thanks
for your patience. Our wet weather of the last couple months is
ill-suited for parking lot construction.

A blood drive will be held on Monday, Nov.
13, from noon-4 p.m. at the Pagosa Lakes Clubhouse. To schedule an
appointment for donating blood, please call Gloria Petsch at
731-5635, Ext. 24, e-mail plpoa@plpoa.com, call United Blood Service
at (970) 385-4601, or go online at www.bloodhero.com (sponsor code:
pagosapoa). Wow, so many choices - pick your favorite. Gloria is
encouraging all you healthy folks out there to donate some of your
blood and be a blood hero.

A special board meeting will be held on
Monday, Nov. 13 to review the 2007 budget for all PLPOA departments.
The meeting will start at 9 a.m. in the administration office
conference room and property owner attendance is welcomed and
valued.

Many thanks to members of the Pagosa Lakes
Swim Team for picking up trash in the core area. This is a good time
to clean up around your neighborhood before the snow arrives.

Belated congratulations to Diane Aabery who
ran a 25K race in Durango on Oct. 7. This race offered both a 25K and
a 50K distance - all on trails - and according to Diane, was "loads
of fun and simply beautiful." She would very much like to run this
race again next year, and hopefully with a group of other Pagosa
runners. This trail run preceded the half-marathon/full marathon on
Sunday, which was well-supported by eight runners from Pagosa.

The Turkey Trot is back again for
Thanksgiving morning at 10 a.m. Since Thanksgiving has traditionally
been a day spent eating with family and friends, consider adding the
trot to the day's schedule. All proceeds will go to the Pagosa Lakes
Swim Team. If you sign up early, it's only $20, but on race day, it's
$25. There is also a family registration - for immediate family
members and up to a maximum of five - for $50 (or $60 on race day).
The entry fee includes a race T-shirt, an opportunity to get some
exercise before the big meal and a chance to show your support of the
swim program for our local youngsters. The trot consists of a 5-mile
run or a 2-mile walk, starting and finishing at the recreation
center. Baked goods will also be available for sale after the race.
Registration forms are available at the recreation center.

The PLPOA monthly board meeting will be held
at 7 p.m. today in the Pagosa Lakes Clubhouse. Members and observers
are encouraged to attend. Public comments are heard at the beginning
of the meeting. The directors will be discussing long range planning
for the association. A motion will also be made to approve a boat
registration program to take effect in 2007. Input from owners is
valued and welcomed.

Business
News

Chamber News

Parade of Stores and community
lighting spectacular

By Mary Jo Coulehan

SUN Columnist

Not wanting the grass to grow under our
feet, we decided to change and enhance the community holiday
activities this year.

So, get ready Pagosa area shoppers, the
Parade of Stores is coming to town for your shopping pleasure on
Saturday, Dec. 2, in conjunction with Santa gracing the Visitor
Center with a visit, and with a community holiday lighting project.

Because it has been difficult in the past to get together at least six floats for the Parade of Lights - traditionally held on the second Friday in December - we have decided to cancel this event. There will be no Parade of Lights on San Juan and Pagosa streets this year, but let me tell you how great the other events are going to be.

We book Santa far in advance to come to the
Visitor Center to visit with the children. He will be at the Chamber
from 3-5:30 p.m. Dec. 2. Of course, he will have some of his elves
there, and we will offer cookies, punch and hot drinks to all
visitors.

Before, after or during Santa's visit to the
Visitor Center - from 2 to 6 - we invite everyone out to participate
in the Parade of Stores.

Here is what awaits our shoppers. The
downtown area will be divided into two sections: the downtown
district from 6th to 4th streets, and the east side, which includes
stores from 3rd Street to the River Center.

Shoppers will be able to pick up a punch
card from any participating store. They can visit or shop the stores
and get the card stamped. If they collect a certain number of stamps,
they can drop off their card at any of the participating stores
during the evening, and they'll have a chance to win a beautiful
gift. You do not have to get your card stamped at every store or at
stores in both sections of town in order to enter.

Of course, we would like you to visit both
areas to see what our local merchants have to offer. So, if you get
your card stamped at a store in the east-end section, you will only
be entered into a drawing at a store in that section. If you qualify
in both sections, you will be eligible for a drawing in both
locations.

The stores will be going all out for this
event, so it is a perfect opportunity to get started on your holiday
shopping. Many of the merchants will offer specials, as well as
provide a very festive atmosphere, and you will be able to pick from
the cream of the crop of merchandise for the holiday season. The
stores will also be decorated to the hilt, and that leads us to the
next part of this special day.

Instead of just lighting the Chamber, as has
been done in the past, we are going to try and create a downtown area
community lighting. Starting around 6th Street we will light San Juan
and Pagosa Streets, one after another, in an eastward direction.

We haven't yet determined how we'll notify
the businesses, but you can bet it will be a dramatic sight as you
drive downtown. The town lights, the lights at the Visitor Center,
and at The Springs, the cross and star and lights at many businesses
all the way to the River Center will be lit in sequence, or close to
it! OK, so we may be a little Keystone Cop-ish this first year, but
it is an attempt to put some pizazz into the lighting and decoration
of our beautiful community.

We also want to do something similar with a
Parade of Stores and lighting on the west side of town the following
weekend, so watch out for more information.

We are pleased to have the cooperation of
the town in our effort to light the whole community and we thank all
the merchants who are so supportive of this event. We hope everyone
will come out to enjoy a special day in our town, see some beautiful
lighting and support some of the businesses in Pagosa Springs. Come
out and shop, stop by the Visitor Center and find a spot to watch the
lighting. We will have more information in weeks to come, so watch
for posters in participating stores, articles her in The SUN, and
stay tuned!

START program begins soon

After a successful session earlier this
year, the Hospitality Skills Training Program or Skills, Tasks and
Results Training (START) will return to Pagosa Springs Nov. 28.

Classes will be held Tuesday and Thursday evening from 6-9:30 p.m. at the high school.

This real-world program provides students
with the knowledge and skills needed to begin a hospitality career.
Graduates of the program will complete intensive classroom and
hands-on training to master the skills of 12 line-level positions
associated with the lodging industry.

You can sign up for the whole program, or
any of the three modules: an intro to guest service and hospitality;
rooms division to include front desk, reservations and PBX; and food
and beverage.

The class is free and there will be breaks
for the holidays and at spring break.

For more information, contact Connie
Eckerman in Durango at 385-4354 or Kathy Saley at kathys@skywerx.com.

Taking a class such as this gives you great
public relations skills training, problem solving skills, and puts
you in a position to move up the hospitality job ladder potentially
quicker than someone who does not have this sort of preparation. If
you have children who are job ready, this class could be the START of
a career in one of the fastest growing industries around.

SunDowner

Don't forget we have an early SunDowner this
month, due to the Thanksgiving holiday.

November's SunDowner will be at the
Archuleta County Education Center on Lewis St. There will be music by
John Graves, giveaways and, of course great food.

Not only will you have fun, but you will
learn about all the things going on at the Ed Center these days. Come
to the Education Center Wednesday, Nov. 15. SunDowners are open to
members and invited guests.

For more information, please call the
Chamber at 264-2360.

New members and renewals

We have one new member to report this week.
Mike Thomas of Southwest Hardwood Flooring is located at 301 N.
Pagosa Blvd., Suite B-4, and can be reached by calling 731-3580 or
946-6297. He has a full-service showroom, featuring the most
extensive selection of antique and custom wood flooring, millwork and
laminate. Mike has 30 years installation experience. He offers a
free, heated warehouse for storage. Thank you Karen Thomas, of Oasis
Graphics, for this referral. Welcome Mike.

Hospice of Mercy would like to thank the
Pagosa Page Turners for volunteering to take over the responsibility
for and maintenance of the Pagosa Springs Hospice Memorial Garden.
The Pagosa Page Turners are a group of 14 women belonging to a local
book club. This fine group offered to give their time and labor
towards the upkeep of the Hospice Garden, and have personally funded
a third of the garden which had not yet been planted when they took
over. Jeanine Malaney, a member of the Pagosa Page Turners and a
Hospice volunteer, would also like to acknowledge the help of two
master gardeners, Laren Traver and Mary Webb. With the efforts of the
book club and the two master gardeners, the Hospice Memorial Garden,
located at the Chamber of Commerce along the San Juan River, has
never looked better!

Civic Club Bazaar

Once again, the community came out by the
hundreds for our annual Civic Club Bazaar last Saturday. We want to
thank all of you who came and supported our Club and our crafters
with your purchases. Also, we appreciate the volunteers - Rotary Club
members for set-up, our own family members, the community center
staff, the many area businesses who helped with our advertising, and
all the friends who pitched in to help in so many ways. The proceeds
from this festive event will support Ruby Sisson Library's
programming and materials purchases. We already have 44 of our spaces
prebooked for next year, and we look forward to providing this annual
experience for you Saturday, Nov. 3, 2007.

Music Boosters

Pagosa Springs Music Boosters would like to
offer a huge thank you to everyone who danced, sang and played the
night away at "The Purple Orchid Room," in support of our
Hallow-Swing big band dance event and fund-raiser. First, our
musicians, dancers and vocalists, who blew us away with their sound
and professionalism: Bob Hemenger, Larry Elginer, John Graves, Lee
Bartley, Dan Fitzpatrick, Walt Lukasik, Debbee Tucker, Johnny K., Kim
Judd, Sue Anderson, Jeannie Dold, Deb Aspen and Charles Jackson.
Thanks also to Wildflower Catering, Amy Dunmyer, Joann Irons, KWUF
and The SUN.

And to our loyal volunteers, who always go
above and beyond: Candy Flaming, Amber Farnham, James Kirkham, Honor
Nash Putnam, Ken and Linda Morrison, Betty and Dale Schwicker, Judy
Nicholson, Sue and Ray Diffee. Could never do any of this without
your help.

Purple Ribbon campaign

We would like to recognize the following
people and organizations who made our first Purple Ribbon Campaign
Against Domestic Violence an amazing success. First and foremost,
Joanne Irons for initiating and coordinating the entire project.
Next, all you fantastically cool kids from Junior Rotary, Archuleta
County High School and Cross Country Running Team. Coach Scott
Anderson and Danielle Sullivan for supporting the effort. And last,
but most definitely not least, the Town of Pagosa Springs, including
Jim and Drew for the use of the trees - none were injured, most
proudly waving purple for a good cause. Thank you.

Archuleta County Victim Assistance program
advocates and board

Halloween party

Here are just a few of the folks who made
this year's community center Halloween party a success. Mercedes
Leist, Marilyn Stewart, Patti Theisen, Shonna Gomez, Bill Norton
(great job on the maze, Bill), Veronica Johnson, Christa Casler,
Bonnie Van Bortel, Karma Raley, Judy Case, Judy Cole, and Ann Conkey
helped with the party setup. BootJack Ranch, Helen Hoff and Will
James, Century 21 Realty, Galles Fine Properties, and Colorado Land
Title Co. all donated money to help with party expenses.

The Halloween Party is truly a community
effort; we couldn't begin to put it together without your help.
Thanks from all of us at the center. Check this space next week for
more thank yous.

Cartwheel-a-thon

Thank you to all the gymnasts, parents and sponsors who
participated in the annual Cartwheel-a-thon at Pagosa Springs
Gymnastics. This year, students were able to raise enough money to
purchase a solar heater provided by Arrowhead Solar Project to heat
their 5,000 square-foot facility. Thanks for your support.

Outdoor club

The San Juan Outdoor Club sponsored its ninth annual Ski and
Sports Swap on Saturday, Oct. 28. We had our biggest Swap ever and
wish to thank the many customers who attended and bought goods, the
eight businesses who supported the Swap with their merchandise and
their time, and the many members of the Outdoor Club who worked to
make it possible. We believe it served its purpose of providing
outdoor goods (often second-hand goods) to the community at
reasonable prices. It also raised funds for our college scholarships
for local high school seniors.

We wish to note especially the gracious contributions of the
Humane Society Thrift Store. They provided us their cash registers
and credit card machine for that day. Diane Owens also gave her time
for the day to guide our use of the check-out machinery. This is a
good example of one non-profit helping another, and we are grateful
to the Humane Society for their help.

Joe retired in the summer of 2000. He was international traffic
manager and worked for Butler Mfg. Co. for 44 years. Carol, a
homemaker, loves to decorate and teach various crafts. They have two
children: Todd Davis lives in the old Diehr farmhouse in Nevada, Mo.
Todd has one daughter, Sarah Grace Davis, Carol and Joe's only
granddaughter. Their daughter Jill and son-in-law Verne K. Covell III
are building a home west of Grandpa Diehr's lake. Carol and Joe also
have a step-grandson, Weston Covell.

After retiring, Carol and Joe moved to Pagosa Springs, and built a
new home.

Sports Page

Pirates get revenge against
Holy Family with 3-1 win

By Karl Isberg

Staff Writer

With a loss to St. Mary's of Colorado
Springs in the first match of the tournament, Pagosa's regional
volleyball hopes would hang on a win over the Holy Family Tigers,
from the Metro League.

The task would not be easy; at last year's
regional tourney, the Tigers beat the Pirates 3-1.

This year, Pagosa turned the coin and kept
hopes alive with a 25-18,17-25, 25-18, 25-23 victory.

The teams were evenly matched, and the games
were close throughout.

Pagosa took an early 4-2 lead in the first
game with two kills by senior middle hitter Jennifer Haynes, a kill
down the right sideline by Alaina Garman and a hit by Camille Rand
that fell inside the block.

The advantage was short-lived as Holy Family
capitalized on a sluggish Pagosa back-row defense to go ahead
5-4.

The Pirates then managed a run of six
unanswered pints and went ahead to stay. Holy Family gave away three
of the points; Rand moved to the middle to hit successfully; senior
outside Kim Fulmer scored from the strong side and senior middle
hitter Danielle Spencer converted on an errant Tiger pass.

Pagosa expanded the lead to 20-11 and seemed
on the way to an easy win.

But, when you get to matches with one of the
16 best teams in the 50-plus Class 3A, nothing is particularly easy.
The Tigers used two stuff blocks, an ace, a kill and a Pagosa hitting
error to close the gap to 20-16.

Rand countered with a kill cross-court, but
gave away a point with a serve fault. Rand moved to the right side
and put a ball down off the Tiger block. The teams traded points with
miscues; Spencer stepped to the serve line, scored with two aces and
the game was Pagosa's.

The Pirates raced to an 8-3 lead in the
second game, with Kim Canty hitting an ace and scoring with a kill,
Garman putting a ball down from the right side and Rand scoring
inside the Tiger block. But, Holy Family also began to score points;
the teams tied at 13, 14, 15 and 16 before the Tigers went ahead for
good. Holy Family scored with a tip and a stuff block, Garman replied
with a kill down the line; Holy Family led 18-17 and it appeared
Pagosa might make another comeback.

It wasn't to be. A Tiger kill fell inside
the block and a Pirate hitting error gave up a point. Pagosa's back
row disappeared and the Tigers got three points off the hands of
Pirate blockers. Two Pirate backcourt errors helped the Tigers to the
win.

Game three saw Pagosa gain a 3-1 lead only
to surrender it to the Tigers. The teams tied at 6-6 and 7-7 before
the Tigers put two aces down and got a raft of gift points to go
ahead, 14-8. Garman killed cross-court, but Holy Family got a point
on a stuff. A Tiger miscue and an ace by Haynes kept the Tigers lead
at four points, 15-11. Holy Family continued to exploit a porous
Pirate back row, but gave away points with hitting errors.

With the Tigers in front 18-14, Pagosa made
its move. A serve error gave the Pirates a point and Spencer stepped
to the line.

She didn't leave.

A Holy Family attack went out; Fulmer killed
off the block and the Tigers committed three hitting mistakes to give
away points. Spencer hit an ace, Haynes crushed a Tiger overpass;
Spencer served another ace,

A Tiger put the ball into the net and, after
two great ups by Pirate defenders, Haynes tipped for a point. Pagosa
was at game point 24-18 and Spencer ended it with yet another ace
serve.

After leading throughout the first part of
the fourth game, it looked as if the Pirates would slip and fall.
Pagosa led 13-11 when things went temporarily south.

The Tigers got a point with a ball hit out
of the Pagosa block, then received a charity point on a Pirate
hitting error. A Pirate passing error and a ball hit out gave Holy
Family a 15-13 advantage and a stray Pirate pass was put to the floor
by the Tiger middle hitter.

Fulmer put the brakes on the Tiger run with
a kill from the right side and a Holy Family hitting error
surrendered a point. The Tigers then scored with a hit that rolled
off the tape. Camille Rand killed off the block; the Tigers scored
with a ball out off Pirate blockers' hands.

Holy Family led 18-16 and it was a race to
the finish.

Pagosa won the race.

Two Tiger hitting mistakes gave away points
and the game was tied.

Rand tipped for a point, but a Pirate serve
went into the net and the game was tied 19-19.

Spencer came up big in the middle, scoring
off the quick set. Rand hit a serve that appeared to be long, but a
Tiger touched it and the Pirates had a 21-19 lead. A Tiger hit went
into the net in the face of Pirate blockers and Pagosa was ahead
22-19.

Pagosa surrendered a point with a player
making contact with the net, but a Tiger serve went into the net and
another Tiger hit found net as the Pirate blockers put up a wall.
Pagosa was at game and match point 24-20.

Holy Family wasn't finished. The Tigers
scored with a kill and got two points as the Pirate quick attack went
awry on successive exchanges.

With Holy Family threatening, Fulmer ended
game and match with a kill that went off the hands of a Tiger
back-row player and out of bounds.

"It was tougher than it looked," said Pirate
Coach Andy Rice of the win. "We lost some of our composure halfway
through the match. But, we also had some tremendous performances:
Rand, Fulmer and Garman hitting from outside, and Spencer with six
ace serves. In the end, we realized the importance of the match, and
we got the win over a team that had beaten us at last year's regional
tournament."

Rand put 10 kills down against the Tigers.
Fulmer had nine.

Canty logged 19 assists; Erin Gabel had
eight.

Canty and Haynes each had a solo
block.

Spencer served six aces, Rand four.

Libero Iris Frye had 19 digs, Rand had
12.

Pirates drop first regional
match to St. Mary's, in five

By Karl Isberg

Staff Writer

The Pirates' first match at the regional
tournament hosted by Valley High School was an early-morning affair,
against an opponent the program has faced many times at regional and
state tournaments - St. Mary's, of Colorado Springs.

The two teams battled through five games,
with St. Mary's emerging victorious 25-17, 20-25, 25-17, 23-25,
15-10.

Much the same story held for each win in the
first four games: whichever team fashioned a significant run of
points through midgame won the contest.

Such was the case in the first game as St.
Mary's went out front from a 2-2 tie with a run of eight unanswered
points. Three of the points came on ace serves; the majority resulted
from a flat-footed Pirate back row. Pagosa never caught up.

Alaina Garman carried the mail for the
Pirates against St. Mary's. The senior outside hitter came up strong
again and again from the right side. Garman got Pagosa's third and
fourth points with a kill and a tip, and senior middle hitter
Jennifer Haynes put an ace serve down. Pagosa's points would come in
twos and threes from there on. Unfortunately, so would St. Mary's. On
the way to the first-game loss, the Pirates got points on two kills
from Kim Fulmer from the right side, two kills from the middle by
Haynes, a tip by junior outside Camille Rand and an ace by senior
defensive specialist Mariah Howell. The Pirates made too many errors
and gave away too many balls in the back row to pull close enough to
make a run.

In the second game, however, it was Pagosa's
turn to make the early-game surge. With St. Mary's leading 4-2, the
Pirates turned the momentum. Haynes killed a 1 from the middle and,
after St. Mary's gave up to points with errors, she put two ace
serves down to give her team a 7-4 advantage. St. Mary's surrendered
four unearned points, scored with a tip, and Garman killed
cross-court. Pagosa was up 11-6.

Danielle Spencer converted a quick set in
the middle, but the team from Colorado Springs managed to close to
within two points, 12-10. Fulmer responded with a kill; Garman put a
left-handed kill down and St. Mary's continued to make mistakes. With
a successful tip by Rand, Pagosa was in front, 18-14.

St. Mary's was not giving up. A hit went out
off the Pirate block and another St. Mary's attack went down the
line. The Pagosa advantage was again two points, 18-16.

Rand replied with two scores - a kill for
the right side and an ace. St. Mary's came back with two. With the
Pirates ahead 21-19, Haynes scored off a short set in the middle,
Garman killed from the right side and a St. Mary's went out. The
Pirates gave up one last point with a ball out of bounds off the
short set but St. Mary's committed a passing error and the Pirates
had the win.

St. Mary's runs in game three gave the team
the advantage it needed to regain the match advantage. St. Mary's
went ahead 5-0 at the start of the game then, leading 10-7, ran off
eight unanswered points to take a significant lead, many of the eight
points coming as a result of sluggish back-row play on Pagosa's side
of the net.

Fulmer stopped the bleeding with a tip, but
St. Mary's responded with a point. Garman scored again from the right
side and a Pirate stuff put another point on the board. St. Mary's
got a ball to roll the right way off the tape, Rand came back with a
kill inside the block, the St. Mary's strong side hitter went
line.

St. Mary's had a substantial 21-11 lead, but
the Pirates were not rolling over. St. Mary's committed a hitting
error, Rand killed twice for points, a St. Mary's attack went out and
Garman hit an ace. Pagosa had closed to 21-16.

Again, St. Mary's went line, then got a
point on a tip of an errant Pagosa pass. A Pagosa attack out of
bounds put St. Mary's at game point. After a hitting error on the
other side of the net, a Pagosa serve mistake handed over the
game.

The one exception to the pattern in the
match happened in the fourth game. St. Mary's overwhelmed the Pirates
in the first half of action, taking the early 9-2 lead then
stretching the advantage to 16-4. As in the previous games, many of
the St. Mary's points were gifts from a lax Pirate back row.

Normally a 16-4 lead is enough to carry a
team to a victory, especially at the regional level.

Not so this time. Pagosa got several gifts
from their opponents and earned points from Spencer on a solo block,
on an overpass hit to the sideline, and on two aces by Rand. Pagosa
was trailing 17-11.

Kim Canty hit a ball down off the block and
St. Mary's committed a hitting error. The St. Mary's setter dumped
the ball to an empty spot on the floor and killed for a point. St.
Mary's led 20-15.

Fulmer scored a point for Pagosa with a kill
down the line but a Pagosa serve error put St. Mary's ahead
21-16.

Pagosa got a charity point on a ball hit out
of bounds and it began a seven-point run featuring an ace by Haynes,
two kills by Rand and a ball hit out off the block by Garman. Another
St. Mary's hitting mistake put Pagosa in front, 23-21.

A Pirate into the net gave away a point and
a St. Mary's hitting error allowed the Pirates to move to game point,
24-22.

Canty ended the comeback with a kill to give
Pagosa the 25-22 victory and force the match to a fifth game, to
15.

And there is where the early run of
unanswered points returned to haunt the Pirates.

Pagosa took a 3-0 lead using an ace by Canty
and a point scored by Haynes as she won a battle for the ball above
the net.

Pagosa botched a pass, the lift surrendering
a point, then lost a point on an hitting error. St. Mary's scored
twice with stuffs of Pirate hitters then scored with a soft shot to
an empty spot in front of the Pagosa back row. The St. Mary's middle
put a short set down and a Pirate attack went out. St. Mary's had a
7-3 lead.

Pagosa would not catch up, despite two kills
by Rand (one from the middle) and a tip of a quick set by Spencer.
The 15-10 loss - the second consecutive regional loss to the Colorado
Springs team - put Pagosa at 0-1 in the four-team, round-robin
tournament.

"It took us too long to find our rhythm,"
said Pirate Coach Andy Rice. "It took a full game to find that rhythm
and our confidence. We didn't seem ready for the pressure that you
encounter at regionals. In game two, we had a much better effort, but
we let off in the third game. We found our rhythm again midway
through the fourth game and we had a great comeback, a great
effort."

Rand had a tremendous match on offense, with
12 kills. Garman was close behind, with 11 kills against St. Mary's.

Canty had 25 assists during the match, Erin
Gabel eight.

Haynes hit four ace serves, Rand
three.

Haynes also scored with four solo blocks
during the match.

Iris Frye had 10 digs, Howell had eight.

Pirates' season ends with loss
to Valley Vikings

By Karl Isberg

Staff Writer

The Pagosa Pirate volleyball team entered
the regional tournament at Gilcrest as the second seed, by virtue of
a district championship the week before.

The regional volleyball tournament host
team, Valley High School, entered the tournament as the
highest-seeded team, by virtue of a Patriot League championship, a
district title, and a 20-2 record.

By the time the two squads met in the final
match of the tournament, Valley had breezed through 3-0 victories
over St. Mary's and Holy Family. The Vikings had barely broken a
sweat against their first two opponents and the team was headed to
Denver as one of the final eight teams in state competition

Pagosa came to the match 1-1, with a win
over Holy Family and a loss in five games to St. Mary's. The Pirates
needed a victory over the Vikings in order to advance to the state
Class 3A event.

To do it, Pagosa would need to do something
few others had managed against a Valley team that started three
freshmen and only one senior - an all-state setter. They would have
to play flawless volleyball. That is what it takes to beat the
Vikings, the No. 2 ranked team in Class 3A, behind the legendary
Colorado Springs Christian Lions.

Valley does nothing flashy. The Vikings play
consistent, precise defense, exhibit a superb passing game and an
equally fluid and well-distributed attack. Their ploy: let the
opponents make the mistakes, then finish them off when the
opportunity arises.

Unfortunately for the Pirates, that is just
what the Vikings did Saturday, to take a 25-17, 25-13, 25-22 victory
and end Pagosa's season. The Pirates gave the Vikings a tussle in the
final game of the match, but mistakes made the difference.

Pagosa got off to a quick start in the first
game, building a 4-0 lead as Kim Canty stunned a normally solid
Viking serve receive with two aces; but the home team rebounded
quickly, scoring five unanswered points.

The teams tied for the final time in the
game at 9-9. Junior outside hitter Camille Rand put a kill down off a
block, but Pagosa mistakes continued to hand over points.

The Vikings led 15-12 when a six-point
explosion - four of the points unearned - expanded the advantage to
21-12.

Canty scored with a hit that fell inside the
Valley block but the Vikings came back with a quick attack from the
middle and got a point on a Pirate passing error.

Senior middle hitter Jennifer Haynes put a
short set down and a Valley hit went out of bounds. A Pirate serve
went into the net and the home team was at game point, 24-15. Pagosa
got two gifts from their hosts before a Viking attack from the middle
fell to the floor off the block.

Pagosa led once in the second game of the
match, going ahead 3-2 as Haynes put an off-speed hit down off a
quick set to the middle, Alaina Garman scored from the right side and
Haynes stuffed a Viking hitter. Valley took a 5-3 lead and didn't
look back. The Viking serve receive tightened up and the Valley
defense closed down any tip game from the Pirates.

Rand killed from both sides of the net and
Kim Fulmer put a hit out off a Viking's hands. Pagosa trailed 12-7.
The Vikings then went on a seven-point run, leading 19-7 before an
attack went out and returned serve to the Pirates.

Canty hit an ace, but a serve into the net
put the Vikings in front 20-10.

Haynes scored with a soft shot off the 1,
Danielle Spencer converted a Viking overpass and Rand hit inside the
block; the Pirates were behind 22-13 - a distance nearly impossible
to close in a regional tourney game.

Valley moved quickly to the victory as
Vikings killed for a point, put back a stray Pagosa set and stuffed
an attempted tip.

To the Pirates' great credit, there was no
quit in the team and, but for another midgame run of unanswered
Viking points, Pagosa might have taken the third game from their
hosts.

The Pirates took a 4-3 lead as Canty swept a
pass to the floor and Haynes hit a short set to the back line. The
teams tied at 6-6 when Rand killed off the Valley block. A stuff
block by Canty and an ace by Rand put the Pirates in front 8-6, but a
Valley stuff and a Pirate hitting error knotted the score again.
Pagosa went ahead 9-8 on a Valley serve into the net.

That is when the Vikings took the
opportunity to put a bit of distance between them and their foes.
Using stuff blocks and kills that went out off the Pirate blocks, the
host team led 14-9.

The Pirates did not retreat. Instead, Pagosa
rallied for four unanswered points. Kim Fulmer got a kill off the
block; Canty served another ace; Fulmer took a set from Haynes and
hit down the line; Garman got a ball to drop off the top of the net.
The Viking lead was cut to one point, 14-13.

The momentum was halted dead in its tracks
with a Pirate serve that went out. The Pagosa back row failed to move
on a Viking serve and Valley scored with an ace to the back corner. A
Pirate passing error gave Valley a 17-13 advantage.

Pagosa responded with three two-point
rallies. A Viking hit went out and Haynes got a point with an ace.
Valley got points on a quick attack from the middle and an ace from a
Pirate serve-receive mistake. Rand killed off the block then hit
successfully to the back line. The Pirates trailed 19-20 and the
Valley fans were a bit nervous.

The Vikings responded with a kill of a quick
set in the middle, and Pagosa surrendered charity points with a ball
hit out and a passing error.

Spencer put another point on the board for
the Pirates, successfully converting a quick set in the middle, but
Valley came right back to go to game and match point with a ball that
went down the net to a open spot on the floor.

A Viking serve into the net made things
interesting, closing the gap to 24-21. Fulmer kept the Pirates' hopes
alive with a kill from outside, but those hopes ended with a Viking
stuff block for the final point.

"We probably put too much pressure on
ourselves," said Pirate Coach Andy Rice. "We beat ourselves in games
one and two. That's part of their (Valley's) game - they let you make
the mistakes and put yourselves in the hole. In game three, we were
right there with them; but we had probably expended too much in the
first two games. I think they knew, though, that we were a pretty
good team. They knew we could be dangerous."

Rand finished her season with seven kills,
Haynes ended her Pirate career with four.

Canty, also playing her final game for the
Pirates, served four aces in a great performance against a
high-quality back row. Canty and Haynes each had one solo block
against the Vikings.

Canty put up eight assists in the match,
Erin Gabel, also a senior, had eight.

Libero Iris Frye, in her final match in a
Pirate uniform, contributed five digs; senior Mariah Howell had three
digs in her final career match.

Pirate harriers have banner
season, with strong prospects next year

By Louis Sherman

Staff Writer

The 2006 Pirate cross country teams were
dominant in their region, while individual Pagosa runners raked in
the medals throughout the season.

The two teams combined for a medal count of
35, including team and individual performances.

The boys' team earned six silver medals
during the season, including the Intermountain League race, and beat
the field at the regional race in Monte Vista. At state, the crew -
Jackson Walsh, Travis Furman, Aaron Miller, Logan Gholson and Chase
Moore - finished a strong sixth.

The girls were several steps ahead of every
other team in the region, claiming five first places (including
victories at league and regional races), two seconds and one third.
At the Mancos meet, the girls swept the podium, while at the Pagosa
Invitational, they swept the top four places. They repeated this
accomplishment again at the regional meet, with an unheard-of perfect
team score.

Notably, the girls' team won the silver at
state with its group of top-runners - Jaclyn Harms, Julia Adams,
Jessica Lynch, Laurel Reinhardt and Chelsea Cooper.

Seniors on both the boys' and girls' squads
- Furman, Lynch and Reinhardt - medaled during the season. Lynch led
veteran runners with three bronzes, including podium-finishes at
league and regional races.

With the strong senior runners,
underclassmen led the Pirate teams. Freshman Julia Adams raced to
three silvers and one bronze, including a second-place finish at the
regional race.

Sophomore Jackson Walsh led the boys' team
with three golds, two silvers and two bronze medals, including
second- and third-place finishes at the regional and conference
races, respectively. Despite a stomach virus that almost kept him out
of the state meet, Walsh ran threw muck and mud at Colorado Springs
to finish 10th, making the all-state team.

But the harrier who ran for the most
victories and accolades was sophomore Jaclyn Harms, who led the
girls' team with four first-place finishes (with wins at league and
regional races), one bronze and a sixth-place finish at state -
earning her all-state honors along with Walsh.

Harms' win at the league race also earned
her the title of Intermountain League Runner of the Year.

Six Pirate runners earned all-conference
honors by finishing in the top 10 at the league race - Harms, Lynch,
Adams, Reinhardt, Walsh and Furman. All six finished in the top 10 at
the regional meet, as well, with the addition of Cooper.

Despite losing a strong group of seniors,
the Pirates' success should continue next year - with the return of
Harms, Adams and Walsh and the addition of fast runners from the JV
squads, including freshman Jamie Harms, Katarina Medici and Ryan
Hamilton (who travelled to state as alternates).

Get ready, get set ... trot!

By Natalie Carpenter

Special to The SUN

What do turkeys and porpoises have in
common?

The Pagosa Lakes Porpoises swim team will
host the 2006 Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving day at the Pagosa Lakes
Recreation Center. Eat your Thanksgiving feast guilt-free by burning
off calories early in the 5-mile run or 2-mile walk.

After the trot, pick up your Thanksgiving
goodies at the bake sale hosted by the Porpoises. All proceeds from
the run, walk and bake sale benefit the Pagosa Lakes swim
team.

The trot and bake sale start at 10 a.m. and
early registration is available by visiting the Pagosa Lakes
Recreation Center located on the corner of Park Avenue and Eagles
Loft Circle. Entry fees for early registration are $20 for
individuals and a special family rate of $50. (Family rate is
available to family members of a single household only, maximum of
five.) Race day registration fees are $25 individual and $60 family
rate. The entry fee includes a commemorative T-Shirt.

For more information, contact the recreation
center at 731-2051, or visit the Pagosa Lakes Porpoises Web site at
www.pagosaswim.com.

Pirates finish third in
Mountain League, need to reload for 2007

By Louis Sherman

Staff Writer

Pirate football finished its season in the
middle of the Mountain League standings, behind Salida and Monte
Vista, with a league record of 3-2 (4-5 overall) - missing the
playoffs by one key victory.

After starting the season with a convincing
non-league win against Bayfield, 34-0, the Pirates suffered a
three-game losing streak - a blowout against 3A favorite Alamosa,
51-0; a tough loss against Kirtland Central, 31-21, which could have
easily gone the other way; and a shutout at the hands of Salida,
20-0, in a game in which the Pirates gained less than 100 yards total
offense.

After losing to the eventual league champ,
Pagosa made significant improvements and played good football the
rest of the season.

With a come-from-behind 18-14 win against
Buena Vista, the Pirates returned to the playoff hunt. After a bye
week, the Pirates nearly defeated 4A Durango in a 3-0 mudfest. That
game, with the Kirtland Central game earlier in the season, could
have helped the Pirates into the playoffs as a wildcard, if only a
few plays had gone the other way.

The Pirates came back from the loss with
nearly 350-yards total offense in a shutout victory over Centauri,
26-0. Again Pagosa was in the hunt, only needing a victory over
second-place Monte Vista.

Ultimately the season came down to the best
game of the year, an offensive seesaw that lifted Monte Vista to
victory, only after a fourth-quarter comeback and overtime win,
40-34.

With the difference of a few calls, bobbles,
missed tackles or other contingencies, Pagosa would have had a go at
Colorado Springs Christian in the playoffs, in the place of Monte
Vista.

Instead, they had to be content with a
victory to end the regular season.

Coach Sean O'Donnell said the final game
against Bayfield was difficult, since his players knew it was the
last game of their season, for some the last game of their career,
with no hope of going on to the playoffs, with no hope of contending
for state.

But further, he said, "the thing about these
kids is they never quit."

It would have been easy for Pagosa to go out
with a mediocre, lethargic win against a less experienced, last-place
Bayfield team, but instead the Pirates went out on a high note,
overpowering the Wolverines 47-0, with all but one touchdown coming
in the first half, before the second team was brought in.

"We finished 4-5, but it didn't feel like a
disappointing season," said O'Donnell, who is proud of the way his
team repeatedly bounced back from losses, especially at the close of
the season.

Pagosa's 16 seniors finished their season
with a statement, that they were better than 4-5 - and that they were
strong as a team.

On offense, for example, no single player
dominated the score sheet or statistics. Receiver John Hoffman led
the team with seven touchdowns (six coming from receptions and one
after an interception), but Kerry Joe Hilsabeck was not far behind
with four touchdowns as a receiver.

Jordan Shaffer reached the end zone six
times (four as a runner, one as a receiver and another as a
defender), in addition to 14 touchdown passes, while running back
Corbin Mellette finished with three TDs, two rushing and one on a
reception.

Next year's 2007 Pirates will need to work
as a team, as well, if they are to overcome their lack of varsity
experience. Only a handful of players with significant varsity
playing time will return. The rest of the team will be made up of
juniors and sophomores, said O'Donnell.

There is some talent and experience at key
positions: junior running back Hurd would have been a varsity starter
on any other team in the league, according to O'Donnell; junior Dan
Cammack and sophomore DuCharme made several big plays from the
defensive backfield; and Garrett Campbell started at offensive
lineman throughout the year.

But how members of the strong JV team step
into their varsity roles will be essential. "I'm excited about it ...
but it's a big question mark," said O'Donnell.

That will be settled next year. As for this
one, the Pirates could not play as long as they wanted to - if only
the league had not been realigned to include Salida, if only for
fewer injuries, no ineligibilities, or for that one key play - but
the Pirates can still hold their heads high after a respectable,
third-place finish.

Still, the Pirate coaching staff will
undoubtedly be watching how things wrap up with the 2A season, seeing
how far a Mountain League team will make it in state, judging how it
may affect next year's competition, perhaps wondering how the Pirates
would have fared if things had been slightly different.

League champ Salida and runner-up Monte
Vista earned spots in the playoffs to represent the Mountain
League.

In a second-seed match-up, Monte Vista lost
21-20 to Colorado Springs Christian last Saturday. Both teams were
7-2 going into the game.

Despite the playoff loss, Monte Vista will
be a formidable opponent next year, since they are only losing a
handful of seniors.

Salida, 7-2, defeated the 2A playoff team
with the worst record, wildcard Roosevelt, 26-7, to move into the
second round. The Spartans will face Platte Valley (9-1) next
Saturday, a second-seed team that only lost to Patriot league rival
Brush, now 10-0, during the regular season.

Photo night for all teams and players in
this year's 7-8 youth basketball division is Tuesday, Nov. 14, at the
community center.

Parents and coaches are reminded to make
arrangements for players to arrive at least 20 minutes prior to their
respective game times, which are as follows: Forest vs. Purple at
5:30 p.m. (photos at 5:10), Black vs. Orange at 6:20 p.m. (photos at
6) and Royal vs. Red at 7:10 p.m. (photo at 6:50).

Complete schedules for the 7-8 season are
available at the recreation office in Town Hall and are posted online
in Adobe format at www.townofpagosasprings.com (click on the town
departments link, then the parks and recreation department link and
scroll down to "7-8 Youth Basketball.")

Coaches and parents are reminded that water
is permitted on the sidelines during games, however all other snacks
and drinks are prohibited in the Community Center gymnasium. Please
distribute all postgame snacks in the lobby or in the parking
lot.

Please note that registration for the 9-10
and 11-12 divisions will begin in late November; the season for these
divisions will not begin until early January.

Coaches and team sponsors for the 9-10 and
11-12 divisions are needed and appreciated. Cost for sponsorship is
$150, which includes sponsor's name on team uniforms, commemorative
plaque with team picture and recognition in media articles.

For more information call 264-4151 Ext. 231
or 232.

Youth soccer photos

Coaches and parents who ordered youth soccer
photos can contact Jeff Laydon at Pagosa Photography, 264-3686, to
check the status of their orders. The recreation office will provide
sponsors with team plaques and photos as soon as they are
available.

Adult volleyball

Adult volleyball (open gym) is being held
Mondays from 6:30-8:15 p.m. at Pagosa Springs Junior High
School.

There are two courts set up to accommodate
varying levels of play, and instruction will be provided if
desired.

A goal of having a coed "4s" league playing
once a week in November will be discussed at the open gyms.

Contact Andy Rice, sports coordinator for
the Town of Pagosa Springs, at 264-4151, Ext. 231, for more
information.

Last chance to comment

The Pagosa Springs Recreation Department
staff is currently exploring the feasibility of forming separate
basketball leagues for boys and girls in the 9- and 10-year-old and
11- and 12-year-old age divisions this year.

The deadline to comment on this proposal is
Nov. 17. Anyone interested in commenting can call the department
office at 264-4151, Ext. 231 or 232. Comments by e-mail may be sent
to andy.rice@centurytel.net or tcarosello@centurytel.net.

Thank you for your cooperation in this
matter; the decision on whether or not to separate this year's 9-10
and 11-12 youth basketball leagues according to gender will depend
heavily on public comment.

Sports hotline

General information concerning the Pagosa
Springs Recreation Department can be obtained by calling the Pagosa
Springs Sports Hotline at 264-6658 or logging on to
townofpagosasprings.com and going to the parks and recreation
link.

All schedules and upcoming events are
updated on a weekly basis. For any questions, concerns or additional
information about any of the Pagosa Springs Recreation Department
adult or youth sports programs, call 264-4151 Ext. 232.

Editorial

Time to reconsider

The midterm election season is over. Enough
of the nastiness, of the tunnel-vision and partisan vitriol. Enough
of the smears, the nonsense that flies in the face of fact. Enough of
label-mongering, hateful and often deceitful accusations and
charges.

Colorado has a governor elect, Bill Ritter.
This part of the state has re-elected John Salazar as our U.S.
Representative. We have re-elected Jim Isgar as our state Senator
from District 6 and we have a new state Representative, Ellen
Roberts. We've amended the state Constitution yet again, but not as
much as we could have; in a couple cases, we came to our senses and
refused to add amendments to what is a grossly overblown foundation
document. Most notably, we defeated an amendment that would have made
it easier to petition for constitutional damage.

Locally, we selected Pete Gonzalez as our
next sheriff. We returned several folks to office - and we made up
our minds on a number of tax-related issues. We showed our trust in
county government (or is it our awareness of a dire road situation?)
by stabilizing the county mill levy, but denied the library
additional tax revenues. We voted to approve TABOR measures to
produce revenues that, at some point in time, will be used in the
creation of new water storage for the county, and for our health
services district.

And we have a county commissioner elect, Bob
Moomaw.

With Bob's election, it is time to reflect
on what might be possible in this county, given that he and his
opponent, John Egan, were recent participants in a group
investigating home rule government for Archuleta County.

It is the silly, partisan politics that
occurred across the board in the recent campaigns that lead us,
again, to opine that some form of county home rule is
desirable.

Why? Because, part and parcel of a move to
home rule could be a change in our election regulations. We could
run, as fast as possible, from an archaic and unproductive party
caucus system. We could, in a stroke, cart the meager bones of an
outdated system from the arena and bury them.

Home rule government allows for a great deal
of latitude, compared to statutory government. One of the benefits
could be a restructuring of county government - first in the number
of districts, if we decide we need them. This would be a question,
since we should elect candidates who express a desire to work for the
greatest good for the greatest number of county residents. If we
believed we needed to redistrict the county, we could create a five-
or seven-member commission - one less prone to fall victim to erratic
officials, their foibles, their inattention, their scraps and
squabbles.

But, perhaps most attractive in the potential of a home rule government is the notion that all candidates for a county commission seat could run independent of party affiliation and attendant, tired and outdated processes - processes that have been shunned by too many younger and independent voters; processes that have produced, from the bowels of the party animals, most of the ugliness we now experience in our political life. The process for becoming a candidate could be streamlined - made easier. The election could proceed, if we avoid districts, on the basis of a certain number of commission seats coming up vacant every two years, with candidates running not so much against other candidates, from other parties, but for a seat.

With our newly-constituted commission, it
might be time to think about home rule again, to ponder what it can
do for us and to wonder what we can do to reform an ever-weaker party
system and to draw a fresh, invigorated electorate into a system of
representative government.

Karl Isberg

Legacies

Shari Pierce

90 years ago

Taken from SUN files of November 17, 1916

"Ma" Latham and grandson Raymond Brown, had a narrow escape
Saturday while driving to town from the ranch above Scase's. They
were in a cart when a big team of horses belonging to the Brauns,
came tearing down the road behind them, and ran into the cart
throwing Raymond over on one of the horses, and Mrs. Latham on the
ground, with great force, cutting a gash over one eye and scratching
her up considerably. Fortunately there was no further damage.

Dr. P.F. Greene went to Durango Sunday with Mrs. Geo. Tunnell who
was operated on the next morning for appendicitis. Dr. Greene
returned Monday with the little Hazelwood boy who had been undergoing
treatment for his broken arm.

75 years ago

Taken from SUN files of November 13, 1931

Messrs. Hersch and Mickey of the Hersch Mercantile Co. and the
Piggly Wiggly store announced the introduction of a new plan adopted
in giving their customers sound discounts by means of the nationally
famous "S&H" Green Stamps. America's oldest and greatest
co-operative discount tokens, which have aided thrifty housewives for
over a quarter of a century. Messrs. Hersch and Mickey took
precaution to investigate the success of the plan by other stores
before determining on its use in Pagosa Springs. It is in the nature
of a premium to do more cash trade. The grand opening and
introduction will take place Saturday, November 21. Souvenirs will be
given to everyone and the children will not be forgotten.

50 years ago

Taken from SUN files of November 15, 1956

Good progress is being made on the new Gambles store building. The
roof has been completed and the front installed this week. The
Whitefields are presently planning on opening for business in the new
location some time the week after Thanksgiving.

The fall term of District Court began in Archuleta County this
week. District Judge John Galbreath of Durango will handle the cases
here during this term of court. The case of Frank Valles, charged
with stealing $500, was heard. The defendant had changed his plea of
not guilty to guilty and the evidence was taken in the matter. He was
sentenced to a term of 2 to 3 years at hard labor in the state
penitentiary and will start serving his term immediately.

25 years ago

Taken from SUN files of November 12, 1981

Wolf Creek Ski Area opened on November 10 according to Operations
Manager Jann Pitcher. Pitcher said the area had passed all
inspections, has 18 inches of snow at the clubhouse and three feet of
snow on top, and is ready to go.

The Pagosa Springs SUN starts it 73rd year of publication this
week. The SUN is one of the oldest businesses in the area still
operating under its original name, and is glad, proud, and thankful
to still be serving the needs of a community which has undergone
numerous changes.

The high school ski team started practice November 5. The team has
a solid core of veteran skiers and expects to do well in the ski
meets scheduled for this season.

Features

Little Moments ... Big Magic

By Tom and Ming Steen

Special to The SUN

United Way in Archuleta County conducted an
extensive needs analysis earlier this year. The local Advisory
Council accomplished this by gathering information from community
leaders and residents in order to better understand public attitudes
and opinions about issues related to the well being of the community.

One of the goals clearly identified was
helping local children and youth succeed. United Way will work
towards this goal by encouraging and funding programs that support
healthy, strong and nurturing families; positive adult-teen
relationships and mentoring; opportunities for activities that
promote academic, physical and emotional growth and development;
child care and early education; prevention of substance abuse,
violence and other at-risk behaviors in teens; and out-of-school
programs for school-aged youth.

This is one of four programs that United Way
in Archuleta County will help fund with money raised during this
year's campaign.

Big Brothers Big Sisters

The Big Brothers Big Sisters program matches
caring, open-minded, responsible and enthusiastic mentors one-to-one
with a child in need of a caring and safe role model. Big Brothers
Big Sisters is a simple, yet powerfully effective way to offer
Archuleta County's at-risk youth a safe path to adulthood. A match
specialist who lives in Pagosa Springs oversees the matches. Big
Brothers Big Sisters served from 17 to 22 families in Archuleta
County during each of the past three years.

Approved mentors make a commitment to meet
with their "Littles" a few hours each week to see a movie, play
sports, or just talk. Often the Little Brother/Sister is simply
folded into the mentor's normal activities, such as washing the car,
going for a walk, running errands, or fixing dinner. Eventually, a
trusting friendship develops that benefits both the Big
Brother/Sister and the Little Brother/Sister.

The Big Brothers Big Sisters program serves
youth between 6 and 17 years old who have one or more of the
following risk factors present in their lives: the child comes from a
single parent family; there is a history of violence in the home or
economic deprivation; the child exhibits poor school performance or
self esteem; there is alcohol or drug use by parents or other adults
in the child's life; or the child lacks adequate positive role
modeling.

Studies show that illicit drug use by
adolescents can be traced to several of the above-mentioned risk
factors. Studies also show that adolescent drug use and delinquency
are inextricably linked. The Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention writes, "Substance abuse and delinquency often
share the common factors of school and family problems, negative peer
groups, lack of neighborhood social control, and a history of
physical or sexual abuse."

According to the Colorado Children's
Campaign "2005 Kids Count" report, rates of child poverty, births to
single women, and child abuse and neglect are all significantly
higher in Archuleta County than in the state overall. The 2003 rate
of child poverty in Archuleta County was 17.2 percent, exceeding the
state rate of 11.8 percent. The rate of Archuleta County births to
single women was 29.6 percent, again higher than the state average of
26.7 percent. Child abuse and neglect rates in Archuleta (11 percent)
are far above the 9 percent state average. Many children in Archuleta
County continue to live in conditions of rural poverty, abuse and
neglect.

The Big Brothers Big Sisters Core Program is
a simple, yet powerfully effective way to offer Archuleta County's
at-risk youth a safe path to adulthood. The national Big Brothers Big
Sisters mentoring model was examined for effectiveness in a 1995
national study. The study found that youth mentored in Big Brothers
Big Sisters programs were 46-percent less likely to initiate drug use
than similar non-mentored youth, 27-percent less likely to initiate
alcohol use than similar non-mentored youth, and almost one-third
less likely than similar non-mentored youth to hit someone. Mentored
youth also earned higher grades, skipped fewer classes and fewer days
of school, and felt more competent about doing their schoolwork than
did similar non-mentored youth. What's more, the quality of the
Little Brothers' and Little Sisters' relationships with their parents
or guardians and their peers was better at the end of the study
period than it was for non-mentored youth.

United Way in Archuleta County hopes to
raise $67,500 through donations during its current campaign. Part of
this has been pledged to the above program targeting youth. Donations
may be sent to United Way of Southwest Colorado, P.O. Box 4274,
Pagosa Springs, CO 81147.

For information on how you can become a Big
Brother or Big Sister, or how you can enroll your child in the
program, contact Michelle Carroll at 264-5077.

Pagosa's
Past

The Jicarilla 'Trail of Tears'

By John M. Motter

SUN Columnist

For scarcely a year, from 1880 to 1881, the Jicarilla believed
they owned a reservation west of Tierra Amarilla. Wouldn't the
presidential proclamation creating the reservation be binding?

Apparently not.

When Agent Llewellyn ordered the Jicarilla to move to the
Mescalero Apache Reservation in southern New Mexico in 1881, the
response was predictable.

Jicarilla leader Mundo and his people were tired of looking for a
permanent home, a search they had been involved in since the early
1850s. They were still rankled at the loss of their holy lands, the
homelands of the Jicarilla before Anglos entered the scene. Mundo's
band insisted they be allowed to remain where they were.

Llewellyn's callous response was that his orders were final and
that the Amargo Agency's supplies were already being sent to
Mescalero. He made it clear that those willing to go with him would
be treated kindly, fed well, and given land, but those not
cooperative would be placed in the hands of the military.

On Aug. 15, the Jicarilla, Llewellyn and Gen. David S. Stanley
held a council to discuss the move to Mescalero. Gen. Stanley
certified that Mundo had consented, but only under protest. He was
inclined to yield only to force.

Mundo called for Congress to investigate. He believed the attempt
to move the Jicarilla was illegal. He also asked that the reservation
not be opened for settlement until Congress reached a decision.

Llewellyn recommended the reservation be sold and the proceeds
used to purchase farm implements.

Five more days were granted to make final preparations - days in
which the Jicarilla held prayer meetings, asking the Great Spirit for
divine guidance and assistance in returning home in the near future.

On Aug. 20, the Jicarilla began their "Trail of Tears," or long
walk to Mescalero. Escorted by soldiers, the Jicarilla - men and
women, old and young - traveled by horse and wagon. The route was
determined by the availability of water for the animals, for the
Jicarilla owned 2,000 horses. They stopped off in Santa Fe Sept. 2.
They crossed the Pecos River at San José, where smallpox broke
out, resulting in six deaths. They had intended to continue to
Roswell across the plains to the Rio Hondo, up the Rio Ruidoso, and
on to Mescalero. Instead, alarmed by the smallpox, they cut across
the country to El Capitán and Fort Stanton, then went onto the
Mescalero Reservation. The total journey covered about 350 miles.
Rations were issued once, at Carrizo River.

The majority of the Jicarilla made the best of the situation,
generally working to make Mescalero their home.

Since Jicarilla leader San Pablo and his people, numbering 234,
had not opposed removal, the best agricultural lands were given to
them. In 1883, Llewellyn purchased San Pablo a home with government
funds. Mundo's people did not fare so well. They held fast to their
objective of returning to their reservation at Amargo, and for the
next three years worked toward that end.

A meeting with the Jicarilla in October of 1883 revealed that San
Pablo and his people were pleased, Mundo and his people unhappy.
Mundo was aggressive enough that another trip to Washington D.C. was
arranged for the Jicarilla leaders.

Only Llewellyn, however, actually went to Washington. He returned
to Mescalero determined to force Mundo and his band to cooperate. The
absence of arable land formed the basis for Mundo's resistance. On
Nov. 15, 1885, Fletcher J. Cowart replace Llewellyn as agent for the
Mescalero Apache. He worked toward better relations with Mundo and
his people.

Mundo, along with some of his headmen, proposed that he be allowed
to sever tribal relations and take up homesteads. He said all of his
people, 107 households, wished to take this step. They wanted land
where they could live close together as one people.

In the summer of 1886, Mundo was informed that only the four
headmen would be allowed to file for homesteads. Not trusting the
agent, Mundo and his four headmen went to Santa Fe to try to learn
the truth about their denial from the governor.

More next week on the Jicarilla search for a home. What happened
to their desire to homestead?

The information used in this series of articles on the Jicarilla
search for a home is being taken from "The Jicarilla Apache Tribe, A
History, 1846-1970," by Veronica E. Velarde Tiller.

Pagosa Sky
Watch

Hubble Space Telescope to get a
make-over

By James Robinson

Staff Writer

The following sun and moon data is provided
by the United States Naval Observatory.

Sunrise: 6:41 a.m.

Sunset: 5:02 p.m.

Moonrise: 8:41 p.m.

Moonset: 12:08 p.m. Nov. 10.

Moon phase: The moon is waning gibbous with
78 percent of the visible disk illuminated. The moon is at Last
Quarter Nov, 12, 2006 at 10:46 a.m. Mountain Standard Time.

NASA officials have announced the Hubble
Space Telescope will receive a much-needed, extreme astronomical
make-over.

The announcement came from NASA
Administrator Michael Griffin during an Oct. 31 press conference. The
announcement marks commencement of the fifth, shuttle-based servicing
mission to the venerable deep space telescope.

"We have conducted a detailed analysis of
the performance and procedures necessary to carry out a successful
Hubble repair mission over the course of the last three shuttle
missions. What we have learned has convinced us that we are able to
conduct a safe and effective servicing mission to Hubble," Griffin
said.

"While there is an inherent risk in all
spaceflight activities, the desire to preserve a truly international
asset like the Hubble Space Telescope makes doing this mission the
right course of action."

And Project Manager at the Goddard Space
Flight Center Preston Burch added, "We're going to give Hubble
another extreme make-over. This make-over will be the best one yet
because we will outfit Hubble with the most powerful and advanced
imaging and spectrographic instruments available."

Burch estimated the make-over should add
five years to Hubble's operating life, and should push observations
well into 2013, perhaps longer.

NASA launched Hubble in 1990, and designed
the space telescope to undergo periodic component upgrades as
observational technology advanced. The shuttle was to play an
integral role in the telescope's long term upgrade and maintenance
plan.

Between 1990 and 2003, shuttle crews logged
four successful missions to the space-based observatory, and Hubble's
future looked secure. Yet 2003 came, and with it, the Columbia
catastrophe, and following the event, shuttle-based repair missions
to Hubble were suspended indefinitely.

Griffin said NASA has solved the issues
plaguing previous shuttle flights and the program is back on track,
with NASA astronauts and their craft ready to tackle another Hubble
servicing mission.

In order to complete the task, the shuttle
will haul a crew of astronauts experienced in spacewalking and 22,000
pounds of hardware on an 11-day flight to the space-based
telescope.

Once the shuttle reaches Hubble, the
shuttle's mechanical arm will place the telescope in the shuttle
cargo bay. Astronauts will then perform five space walks to complete
the upgrades.

Among the weighty cargo are new gyroscopes
to improve Hubble's steering, new batteries to ensure a stable and
reliable power source, thermal blankets to insulate sensitive
components, and two key instrumentation upgrades - the Cosmic Origins
Spectrograph (COS) and the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3).

According to NASA, the Cosmic Origins
Spectrograph is the most sensitive ultraviolet spectrograph ever
flown on Hubble. The instrument will probe the cosmic web, the large
scale structure of the universe whose form is determined by the
gravity of dark matter and whose outline is traced by the spatial
distribution of galaxies and intergalactic dust.

In order to probe the underlying structure
of the universe, Hubble will train the spectrograph on distant
quasars whose light passes through the cosmic web. As dust and other
material in the web absorbs quasar light, the web's characteristics
are read by the spectrograph. Scientists can then use the data to
determine the web's composition and location in space.

The Wide Field Camera 3 is a new camera
sensitive across a wide range of wavelengths, including infrared,
visible and ultraviolet light. Hubble astronomers will use the camera
to explore planets in our own solar system and to explore both nearby
galaxies, and galaxies beyond Hubble's current reach.

Together, the Wide Field Camera 3 and the
Cosmic Origins Spectrograph will allow astronomers to make
increasingly sophisticated observations of the large scale structure
of the universe and to study progressive changes in the universe's
chemical composition as it has grown older.

With the addition of the camera, the
spectrograph and other upgrades, Griffin said Hubble will be at the
top of its game.

The telescope is named for astronomer Edwin
Powell Hubble, who, in the 1920s, discovered the universe - along
with its component parts, galaxies, stars, and planets - is
expanding. The rate of the universe's expansion is now called the
Hubble Constant, and contemporary astronomers have confirmed Hubble's
theory using the space telescope that is the astronomer's
namesake.

With Hubble's theory confirmed, many
theorists expected the rate of expansion to gradually slow, perhaps
even stop. But observations in 1998 indicated that about four to five
billion years ago, rather than slowing down, the rate of expansion
has increased, and astronomers aren't sure why. Some attribute the
increase to a mysterious force, or "dark energy" that operates beyond
the laws of gravity and is pushing the universe apart.

Although an extreme Hubble make-over will
not solve the dark energy mystery, the observatory's new
instrumentation may help astronomers narrow the search.

"Hubble has been rewriting astronomy
textbooks for more than 15 years, and all of us are looking forward
to the new chapters that will be added with future discoveries and
insights about our universe," said Mary Cleave, NASA's associate
administrator for the Science Mission Directorate.

The Hubble upgrade mission is tentatively
scheduled for fall of 2008.

Weather

Date

High

Low

Precip
Type

Depth

Moisture

11/1

53

20

-

-

-

11/2

55

20

-

-

-

11/3

57

21

-

-

-

11/4

57

25

-

-

-

11/5

56

23

-

-

-

11/6

57

25

-

-

-

11/7

60

27

-

-

-

'Possibility' of snow next week

By Chuck McGuire

Staff Writer

By 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, the Wolf Creek Ski
Area reported 31 inches of packed powder at its mountain summit, with
20 inches midway. Six inches of new snow had fallen in the previous
seven days, and the season total stood at 71 inches.

Under early-season conditions, with
obstacles present, 57 of 77 trails were open, serving 1,200 acres of
skiable terrain. Four lifts were in operation, and Kelly Boyce Trail
was Wednesday's "pick of the hill."

The Alberta Peak Area, Water Fall Area and
Knife Ridge are now open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. (4 p.m. in
the Water Fall Area), but only expert skiers are recommended. Lift
tickets are now $46 for adults and $25 for children and
seniors.

While fairly dry and mild conditions
persist, there is the possibility of snow Saturday and Monday
nights.

In the past week, the Pagosa Lakes area has
enjoyed sunny skies and daytime highs from the low 50s to near 60.
Tuesday topped out at 60 degrees, while the "low" high of 55 degrees
was recorded last Thursday.

Under bright stars and a full moon (Sunday),
low temperatures dropped to the middle 20s most nights, with
Thursday's low dipping to just 20 degrees. Tuesday's low was the
warmest, but still five degrees below freezing.

According to the National Weather Service
forecast, skies will be partly cloudy through Saturday, with
increasing clouds and a chance of snow showers Saturday night.
Daytime highs will steadily slip from today's predicted low 60s to
the high 40s over the weekend. Low temperatures will fall to the
upper teens.

Monday and Tuesday should bring additional
snow showers under mostly cloudy skies, with flurries lingering into
Wednesday. Highs will again hover in the 40s, with lows falling into
the teens.

For the following week, Accuweather.com
predicts clear to partly cloudy skies over Pagosa Lakes, with highs
again warming to the upper 50s. Low temperatures should range between
the low 20s to near freezing.

With November typically a dry month, the
first nine days of this one have been true to form. In fact,
long-range predictions for the Four Corners region suggest "average"
precipitation through mid-winter, with significant moisture arriving
by late winter, into spring.

Nevertheless, a couple of weather fronts
will move in from the Pacific over the next several days, and Wolf
Creek skiers are hoping for more snow in the process.